In the Night
by Butterflysky
Summary: Ginny can't stand the pain of knowing that her life is a complete failure anymore. So one night, she commits suicide but before she hits the ground, a creature with gray eyes saves her. Who else could it be but Draco Malfoy?
1. The moon, the wind, and the fall Discla...

Hi! I'm not necessarily new here, but this is my first fic that I have uploaded. Anyway, the only time that I will probably have uploads for chapters will be on weekends because at the moment I am struggling to keep my grades up in five AP classes. I'm under pressure. and might go insane. wait a tic. I AM INSANE!!!! MWA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! ::cough:: uh, yeah ::cough:: Oh, and flames are not allowed, but nice criticism is - ( . So be nice (or else Inuyasha will attack you. teehee)  
  
AN: a series of -------- signals a flashback and _with text here_ means thoughts  
  
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In the dark night sky there was a moon - a harvest moon to be exact with its looming warm yellow glow. But it was alone this night. No stars could be seen, the Forbidden Forest was invisible, no animals (not even the werewolves) could be heard. The blackness of the night drowned all sounds like a vacuum devouring matter and life alike. There was no smell in the air, for it was winter and the flowers in the gardens have all withered and temporarily died forbidding their invigorating scents from escaping into the air.  
  
It was a perfect night for her.  
  
She would do it tonight. No more waiting. No more second thoughts. No more apprehension. Tonight was the night. So she creaked open the door to her private balcony (compliments of her prefect room), climbed atop the banister and stood there with her face upturned towards the sky. A faint wind blew and threw her waist-length red curly hair in all directions. She smelled the air but no fragrance awoke her senses leaving her feeling as dead as she was a few moments ago - and not even!  
  
_I've been dead for a little more than three years, after my second year that is. I've been ignored - no surprise there. Almost everyone is scared of me even though it has been three years since my possessed rampaging - damn Tom Riddle. Now, I have grown. I am sixteen, a sixth year, and I still haven't lived. Harry and Hermione have. They love and yearn for each other. Ron's happy, being a single that is. One woman to the next is his saying . perv. But, I'm still here. I'm still alone. No one listens and no one hears me. I scream at night - internally that is - and no one awakens to calm me, to make me feel better. They all have someone, but I have no one. All that I know is emptiness - an immutable one that will not change no matter how far I go in life; it will always be there, and it will always hinder what I feel. It's like something burning in your throat that you want to rid by screaming, yet when you try, a noise doesn't come out, and it stays there forever. I want to change who I am, but I can't. You can't change who you are. And I am lonely. _  
  
Ginny turned her head slowly and without care over her shoulder for one last look at life. She saw nothing. Ginny was empty. She's seen people come and go in her life and has suffered loss. To be more exact, she lost Harry. Hermione has him now and they look like they're on top of the world - for lack of a better phrase. Earnestly saying, they were. Ginny saw them everyday laughing, joking, and playing. And it hurt her. Like Hell it hurt her! She felt the flames burn inside eating and corroding all life in its path. Every single day it tore her apart watching them. The frequent snogs, the journeys to the broom closet, and of course, above all, those smiles - UGH! Those fucking smiles! The ones that only true lovers exchange because they are so happily in love. The torture!  
  
_AND NEVER ONCE DID HE NOTICE ME! I WAS THERE! I COMFORTED HIM! I HELPED HIM THROUGH THE TIMES WHEN THOSE THAT HE LOVED DEPARTED! When Hagrid - ignorant giant - went into one of the battles and died in the process, I was there for Harry when he grieved. He cried in my arms, but then pushed me away for Hermione of all people. The nerd, the brain, the so-called compassionate one. HA! I was there most of the time. It's always Harry, Hermione, and Ron - the inseparable trio. More like Charlie's Angels if you ask me._   
  
_So they ignored me. They never noticed how I would run out of a room making up silly excuses like I forgot my potion's homework or I was supposed to help Neville search for his toad. I actually came up here to my room and cried. But no one heard. I slit my wrists. But no one noticed. No one sees the pain I go through. No one loves me. I'm just a ghost to them. What difference would it make if I became one?_  
  
A single tear traveled down her fair cheek, striking the rays from the moon and illuminating that part of her face with a pale glow. Ginny looked down from her tower to the unseen grass below. She thought that there was no other way out. She already suffered too much. No one answered her warnings like the innumerable slits on her arms. Better yet, no one saw her warnings. And now, no one will notice her death.  
  
So she took one last look at the sky, noticed the loneliness of the moon, and pushed herself forward. Ginny tumbled through the air with her red cloak billowing out from behind her. She closed her eyes shut feeling safe in the darkness.  
  
_Now, it's goodbye. I won't suffer anymore. Goodbye Ron, goodbye mom, goodbye dad, goodbye. Harry. Harry. no.NO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I WANT TO LIVE! HARRY! PLEASE!_  
  
" SEE ME! SAVE ME!"  
  
But Harry didn't come, and yet as she fell through the air, a figure watched from above. His quick reflexes enacted immediately. He swooped in from his perch, grabbed the flailing Ginny, and lifted her back to his resting spot above the astronomy tower before she hit the ground.  
  
Her hold was tight on his leather jacket as he carried her in his warm, soft, strong arms. Ginny smelled his scent. It was like vanilla, and it drugged her. She opened her heavy amber eyes, and the last thing that she saw before darkness enveloped her were a pair of silver orbs or eyes to be exact.  
  
They weren't Harry's.  
  
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Tadaa! So what did you think? Please review, or else I'll send Inuyasha at you. Although you may actually want that (because who can resist him?), he won't be happy. Pulling his ears won't help either.  
  
Review please! 


	2. Apolem Estrii Disclaimer: I own nothing

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Author's Note: Thank you all SO SO SO SO SO much for reading my first chapter and commenting! As wanted, here's the second chapter. Sorry that it takes me so long to update, but I really have no time to because of my classes. Love you all and here's the next installment! Wee! Also, my formatting keeps screwing up. Comments? Help?

Another note: Ok, not many of you were happy with this chapter, so I'm fixing it and taking time away from physics, which I really don't care about anyway. Oh, and I'm really sorry but I edited this in html format and the identations are all messed up. Sorry you guys!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

__

Dear Athena, 

My new diary… what a great feeling it is! Not to make you feel bad or anything, but I had Hermione run a check on you. You're fine – no Toms or other possessive beings living inside. I still shudder from that incident, but anyway, I should start my thoughts, right? Right.

So, I named you Athena, the Greek Goddess of war, strength, and power. All of which I need, except war… I'm kind of a neutral when it comes to that. But strength and power … how wonderful would that be? Me, Ginny Weasley, going from a timid little girl to a grand, powerful woman. Yes! How wonderful! No longer would people take advantage of me by making me do their stupid homework or carry their bags in the halls saying that it was only for the moment when it turned out to be for the rest of the day. I will not be stepped on! You see these characters in books that have long, luxurious hair, perfect complexions, and perfect postures. Not to mention how the authors always _blatantly say how the main female characters has, and I quote, "A swelling bosom." Please, give me a break. Boobs are not everything. _

I still love Harry although some of my friends keep telling me that it's more like an obsession, and I'm starting to believe it, too. Yet, no matter how hard I try or how much I attempt to forget about him and Hermione, I just can't. I really can't, and it hurts me to know so - to know that no matter what happens to me, a part of me will always love him although it might slip a little. Nobody really understands what I think. I'm still considered the little girl, Ron's little sister. I can just hear my stupid brother's voice now, "Ginny, be careful, I don't want my only sister to get hurt. It's too dangerous for you." Give me a break.

But, now, I'm slightly perplexed… let me change that. I am EXTREMELY_ perplexed. I still cannot figure it out. So I'm twirling downwards towards the ground when I feel these arms around me, which brings me to my first question… what was that…well, thing that picked me up? I know that I didn't hit the ground although I really wanted to earlier. It just felt so right to end everything, but, in the end, I guess that I really didn't want to. Before I hit the ground, I saw my parents, my brothers, and Harry and noticed how selfish it would be if I died and caused everyone so much grief. I opened my eyes and saw the earth below. Nothing could save me, but then, something grabbed my body and flew upwards with me in its arms… that's right, an "it." The second it touched me, I felt power run through my blood, and it was _so_ strange. I felt… different and important. I guess with all of those overpowering events (my suicidal attempt, that strange surge of energy, and the lift upwards), it made me pass out. The last thing that I saw, and I think this was the weirdest thing of all, was that this it had gray, blue, determined eyes. The only person that I know with such beautiful eyes is that ignorant prat Malfoy, and since when would he care? He was actually one of the reasons why I wanted to kill myself. I would think that after all of the "Nice second-hand clothes wench" and "You're hair's on fire, weasel," comments would have had an effect on me. But then there was that look in the creature's eyes – something like "I'm here. It's ok now." I'm so confused. I wish I knew what that thing was and why it saved me of all people. _

I came back to consciousness I guess maybe thirty minutes later and after looking around, found myself lying atop the astronomy tower. No, not IN the astronomy tower, on top of the astronomy tower where the strong winds almost blew me over the side. No one was around, and the first hints of sunrise starting peeking above the horizon. I freaked out of course until I saw this winding staircase on the side of the tower leading into the window in the tower. Attached to the window was this note, and all it said was, "Nice fall. You should try out to be a diver." Hmm… sounds like Malfoy, yet I doubt it.

But those eyes…

*~*~*~*~*~*

Ginny walked out of her prefect's room that morning after writing her entry feeling quite relieved. She finally had the chance to write down her thoughts without anyone peering into them like her "stupid brother." It was a weekend, so she did not wear the normal boring school clothes that had pretty much become a second skin. Dressed in light blue, tight, flare jeans and a long-sleeved yellow shirt, Ginny looked exactly like a glittering ray of sunshine even though she didn't quite feel like one. The shower helped a little but not much; Ginny was of course still depressed, and the sight that she saw when she came down the gold and marble staircase didn't help. 

There, having a very heated snog session that would probably last through breakfast and probably past noon, were Harry and Hermione. By the time they stop, lunch would have probably ended, and they would just figure a little more snogging wouldn't hurt. Ginny was having a _very _lovely morning. 

__

I guess broom closets and classrooms aren't enough for them… let's just use the common room couch shall we?

"Get a room," Ginny said loud enough for them to hear, but they didn't, for Harry was starting to get… shall we say… a little more into it. 

Gliding past the couple, she opened the door to the tower and closed it shut, waking the slumbering Fat Lady up.

"Have a good day dear. You should perk up a little. It's a sunny day you know," it said groggily. 

"Bite me."

Ginny walked through the halls with her head towards the ground and wearing a "whatever" face. She stopped by one of the large gothic windows on her way and looked outside towards the sky. There stood a full moon hanging among the abyss of crisp blue in the skies. It was one of those days where the moon could still be seen although it was not night. Turning her eyes away from the heavens, Ginny continued on her way until, when turning a corner, she bumped into and then clumsily fell over the one person who harrowed her thoughts. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Draco was different. He knew that of course, knew it well. Luckily for him, it was morning and the sense started receding. His eyesight went back to normal, making him have to wear "those strange flimsy sheets of paper" (as he once said) again. The creature came out every full moon although he stayed the same person, felt the same emotions, and continued smirking with the smile that he thought was sexy. Little did he know that girls thought otherwise. 

It wasn't sexy. It was mad sexy. 

So, Draco was on his way to the Great Hall when some instinct as well as a voice in his mind told him to stop walking on his current path and instead turn a corner leading the other way. Draco did and ran into none other but Ginny Weasley who tumbled over him, knocking him to the ground. Slapping that annoyingly seductive grin on his face, Draco turned into his lovely obnoxious self. 

"Why, Weasley, didn't know you were _that_ attracted to me."

It was then that Ginny noticed how her body was _directly _on top of Draco's and her forehead was but two inches away from his. Like standing on hot coals, Ginny jumped off him and whispered a soft "I'm sorry."

"What are you doing Weasley? Looking for Harry? Still stalking him? I would think that by now you'd notice that he doesn't like you, wench."

And it wasn't as if Ginny needed a wake up call on that. Of course she knew that Harry didn't like her; this morning's events showed that pretty well. But Ginny just couldn't stand how Draco had to shove it in her face and make her feel even more like shit than she already did. So, she decided to give him a little piece of her mind.

"ssh ut… shhe…" _Dammit! I'm even too scared to talk to him!_

"Awww… little weasel too stuck for words?" And with that, Draco stood up, positioned himself in front of Ginny, and whispered in her ear most seductively, "I never knew that I could make you stutter, I'm sure potty will never do that. Why would he care anyways? You're just the little, baby, sidekick."

Bad move. 

"Sh…shut up, Malfoy! You don't understand anything and have no right whatsoever to comment on ANYTHING that has to do with me or what I feel, so… so… FUCK OFF!" And with that, Ginny humphed proudly, turned on her heels, and headed towards the Great Hall leaving a very stunned as well as pompous Draco behind her. He won his game of "Tease the Weasel."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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Author's Note: You all know what to do! Review because I love reviews! Flames shall be given to fire eaters at circuses, and my butler penguins will stop giving cosmos to all of those who flame. ::smiles::


	3. Things Bug People, You Know?

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Author's Note: Someone mentioned how Athena was the Goddess of wisdom. I just found out that she is, but when I read the Iliad last year for school, the book only mentioned her as the Goddess of war and power. However, now I know that it is wisdom, too! I learned something! Yea! I have also decided that I will write a little each day so that I can have these updated every weekend and have long chapters. So here you go!

Chapter 3: Things Bug People, you know?

In the Great Hall, the enchanted ceiling showed crisp blue skies with not a cloud to be seen, which was exactly how it was outside although it was forty degrees. Most of the students were wearing winter cloaks, scarves, and gloves. Outside, a gentle breeze entered through the hall because Dumbledore had decided that because it was such a nice day, they should let some fresh air in to the dismay of already freezing students. Winter was here and sooner or later, snow as well as the holidays would come but probably not for another two or three weeks. It was the beginning of December and already the sense of joy and happiness that came with the holidays was in the air.

This bugged Ginny very much. 

She sat down at the Gryffindor table with a loud –plop!- between her only two friends, Branden and Hailie, just as the food appeared although she was not going to eat it.

This bugged Ron very much whom, as most of the Gryffindors know, has an affinity for food. 

"Why don't you eat?"

"Because I'm not hungry."

"But food's good for you! See!" said Ron who automatically shoved three scones into his abnormally large mouth, talking with it full. "Ift tasftes goofd."

This bugged Hermione, who was wiping her muggle clothes from half-salivated food crumbs. 

"Honestly, Ron! Can't you for once not eat and talk at the same time? Is that all you can do because I must say, it's not a very appealing talent." 

"Now Herm," interjected Harry, "let him be…. Hey, Ron! I bet you that I can shove more scones into my mouth than you!"

"Fyou're fon!" 

While Harry and Ron were savagely eating scones by the tons, Hermione just sat there with a forlorn face knowing that she lost the battle.

"Ugh! Boys!"

Ginny watched with mild interest. She saw enough of this at home and decided to just put her head down on the table and wait for breakfast to end. Yet, something caught her attention. Draco was coming through the doors late that day because he decided to take a nice walk around the corridors so that he could arrive fashionably late. Very typical. 

Ginny lifted up her head and watched the boy enter the room with his arrogant gait and smirk. Ginny thought that she was the only girl in the school who found it quite annoying. Moreover, she was right because when Draco strolls into the Great Hall, all eyes turn on him, including Hermione's to the dismay of Harry. 

"Well of course I'm going to look at someone who slams doors open and struts in! How can I not?"

"By looking away," replied her slightly annoyed boyfriend. 

With looks to kill, including a nicely chiseled body (not too buff and not too scrawny), tousled silver hair, and stunning gray-blue eyes, who couldn't gawk? Well… Ginny couldn't. And for someone like Draco to not notice a girl not staring at him would be strange, so of course he saw Ginny looking past him towards the windows. 

This bugged Draco. This bugged Draco _a lot_, but he decided to deal with her later and instead walked towards his saved seat at the Slytherin table between Crabbe and Goyle. However, the moment Draco sat down, Goyle and Crabbe were knocked out of their respected chairs and replaced by two extremely irritating girls, Pansy and Blaise, both of which Draco hated because every time they'd get near him, they would start harassing him. It was not in a nice way either like how one would pet a cat. Pansy and Blaise were ALL OVER Draco – in his hair, in his lap, and crawling up his legs. Finally, he had enough and, very uncharacteristic of him, Draco stood up and ran out of the hall leaving two very melancholy Slytherin girls to gromble at the table. 

Ginny watched the whole thing with only quasi interest although she found it funny while all of the other girls were crying in their seats because they weren't climbing up the hottie. So, when Draco left the room running, Ginny decided to follow him. What else was she going to do? Watch the food?

"Ginft, whereft are fyou going?" asked Ron who was still having a contest with Harry although he (Ron) was winning in great numbers.

"Out." Before her brother could reply, Ginny sprinted out of the Great Hall to catch up with Draco. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There were actually two reasons why Draco left the dining hall. One was because Pansy and Blaise had gone a little too far, and he swore that he felt a hand going up way past his knee and two because his head started to hurt like it did every full moon. Draco had a power that was not known in the magical or, of course, the muggle world because it happened by a freak accident, but he didn't want to think about it at the moment. _(A/N: Mwahahahahaha! I'm not telling you guys yet what's up with our beloved Draco. I know when and where he shall tell… mwa hahahahahah! You will just have to wait! Teehee.)_

He remembered exactly what happened that night when he caught Ginny.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

*~* flashback *~*

He stood atop his tower, which was actually the Astronomy Tower and was not his although he liked to tell himself so. The wind was blowing extremely hard that night and a few raindrops splattered against his visage when his sense picked up danger and something not right in the castle. 

That's when he heard the scream.

"SEE ME! SAVE ME!"

He knew that voice, for it belonged to none other than Ginny Weasley, the girl who he just loved to torture. His body reacted quickly, and without further thought, Draco sprang into action, flying down from his perch at unknown speeds and grabbing the fragile sixth year who had her eyes tightly shut in order to brace the impact. Knowing that she didn't hit the ground, Draco watched while soaring upwards when Ginny faintly opened her eyes to stare at the face of the person that caught her. 

__

God, she's beautiful… whoa! Where did that come from?

But before he could say anything, Ginny blacked out, and he quickly brought her back up to his perch.

Draco gazed at her for some time wondering why such a quiet and nice girl like her would want to commit suicide. It was just so strange, but when he really started to think about her circumstances, Draco began to see why and how part of it was his fault. Draco felt horrible for what he did, making comments about her family, her clothes… Harry. But what could he do? He was Draco, and Draco was obnoxious.

So, he left her there atop the tower, went back to his room, scribbled a note, flew back to the window in the tower, and shoved it between the glass and the frame. Before leaving again, Draco ascended the stairs towards where he left the unconscious girl, bent down, and gently moved some of the hair out of her eyes. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was easy for Ginny to find Draco by just following the scent of his cologne, which smelled like vanilla (_very strange for a guy now that I think about it)_ and rain. He was leaning against a balcony and looking out towards the grounds. His back was facing her. (A/N: I just love balconies!)

Ginny gathered up her courage and decided to talk to him in hopefully a civil manner, for she actually felt bad after a while for screaming at him earlier.

"Umm… Hi?"

"What do you want Weasley?"

"I just… um… wanted to say hi, I guess."

Draco turned around and looked down at her because of his six-foot-one frame. Ginny was only five-foot-five. 

"Well, then, hi and bye. Go away."

"And what if I don't?"

"I'll just have to make you and trust me, you won't like that." The smirk was back. 

"Actually, I… um… came to ask you a question."

"Well, I'm not answering it."

"Please, just this once. I promise that it won't be long, and then you can go back to being an arrogant jerk."

"At least now I know what you think of me. And just to let you know, I think you're a stuck up bitch."

"I'm not dealing with this. I tried to be civil with you Draco, but now I know that you really are as contemptuous, presumptuous, and self-absorbed as I originally thought you were. I was hoping that maybe you could be nice for just two stupid minutes."

"Interesting vocabulary. I would comment you on it if I truly cared."

Ginny's face turned slightly red, matching her fiery hair, and her fists started clenching and unclenching. However, she didn't want to start anything that she might regret later in McGonagall's office, so she started to walk off.

Draco, noticing this, heaved a sigh and grabbed her shoulder, abruptly turning the girl around. Ginny growled extremely ferociously as her Weasley temper started to show.

"You know, that hurts."

"Just ask the question."

"Fine." Gathering her thoughts together, Ginny took a deep breath and began. "L… l… last night when I… um… jumped from my window, I felt something grab me in mid-air, and before I fainted, I thought that I saw you. Yes, I know, I'm probably wrong and that I'm just wasting your time, but I saw gray eyes, and the only person that I know with eyes that color is you."

Draco's grip on her loosened, and he looked down again at Ginny. He didn't know if he should tell her. It would be a great burden and put her in danger in case Voldemort found out, which he probably already did. But, from the look in Ginny's eyes, he knew that she had no doubt that it was he and decided that telling her wouldn't be so bad after all. 

"Meet me at the Astronomy Tower. 11 'o clock. Don't be late." 

So Draco left the balcony and headed towards his private room, which, of course, his dad got for him with his money. 

And, to Ginny's surprise, she couldn't wait. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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A/N: OMG! I wrote four pages! This is absolutely amazing! Review, please or else I will just have to hunt you down and seek pit bulls after you.


	4. The Tlaron Falcon

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Author's Note: ::sniff:: I'm so proud of this chappie! It's 11 pages long in word and 20 in html peoples! Yea! So this is for all of those who wanted longer chapters. I'm very tired now because this took _so _long to write. Special thanks to my sister for helping me out. 

Thank you all for waiting, and here's chapter 4!

Chapter 4: The Tlaron Falcon

Ginny moved out onto the balcony towards the spot in which Draco previously stood. Leaning against the stone railing, Ginny had a full view of the grounds including the forbidden forest, most of the castle, the quidditch pitch, and the glittering lake that bathed in the sunlight. A few second years were playing in it splashing around and throwing water on each other while the giant squid along with other creatures that resided within the water's depths emerged every now and then to play with them. It was a perfect picture of innocence. On the faces of the children, smiles played and laughter so loud and bright could be heard throughout the castle grounds no matter how far that person stood from them. Naturally, Ginny could hear them and their fun.

Of course, she was jealous of the second years, not surprisingly. The last time she was as happy and free - loving as they were was five and a half years ago before everything that had ruined her life began to happen. Back then, Ginny was free. She played in the yard behind her bulky house in the forest and by the side of a pond that took up almost half of the acreage on the lot in which her house stood. Her parents used to jokingly call her "The Animal Queen" because whenever she would enter the forest or play in the pond, the creatures (luckily only the kind ones) would come out and spend the rest of the day with her until she had to go in for dinner. In the forest when she was younger, Ginny was untamed. She could run so fast that her speed almost matched that of a stag's and was able to find her friends with a sixth sense that directed her right to them even in the night when she felt the most attuned to her instincts and her senses. Without proper eyesight since the blackness enveloped everything, Ginny's other senses emerged especially her "Animal Spirit." During the dark, Ginny's eyes did not direct her - her feelings and instincts did. 

Nevertheless, one night, Ginny's parents did not find their daughter in her room and desperately tried to locate her. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

*~*Flashback*~*

An almost-eleven-year-old Ginny sat in her cozy room one chilly evening with the windows open, for her parents could not pay the "Wizard Air" bill, and the company shut off their supply of magic air conditioning (MAC). Without knowing any spell to fix the problem temporarily, which is extremely odd one might say for two very talented wizards, her parents told their daughter, the only child left in the house, to open her window for the night. 

While Ginny sat on her bed that was covered with red sheets in her yellow room, an extremely strong wind, ten times stronger than the others before it, entered through her window. Something was wrong; something was out of place. Ginny jumped out of her bed and ran to the window just in time to hear a shrill cry from one of the magical birds in the forest that spanned from her house to Hogsmeade. Crawling out of her second story window and climbing down the green vines that scaled that side of the house, she sprinted through the forest for about three minutes at a speed that made the leaves in the trees shake. Ginny came upon a scene that she never imagined that she would see. For a ten-year-old girl, noticing a shot and killed Tlaron Falcon is quite a frightening and traumatic experience since the closest thing that would make an innocent child angry or mad is if their sibling stole their doll. So seeing a brutally murdered creature greatly harrowed the child. 

Tlaron Falcons are interesting animals, for their origins are unknown and there are no historical references to them in any of the existing books in the Wizarding World. The Tlaron, a solely nocturnal animal, hunts in the night taking down creatures as big as deer although its frame is the size of a falcon. Surrounding the creature is a mystery paralleling its hidden past because for some strange reason, when one looks straight into the eyes of the bird, that person (depending on their personality) will either see all of his faults, turning him mad, or see the wonder of life. There is a tale among an ancient enclave of Celts that the bird came from the heavens to bring life to those who have none. However, no common wizard or witch believes this. To them, it is just a story. 

Slowly, Ginny approached the animal and bent down to smooth its gold, brown, and iridescent green feathers. Its gray eyes were closed, and blood poured from a wound in the middle of its chest. The first thought that came to Ginny's head was how could someone do such a thing? Why are there people out there who kill? However, not many ten-year-olds know that in the world, there are people who love to prey on things smaller than they are. She grew up in a decade where there were no signs of Voldemort, no feeling of unease in the air. In her house, there was always an essence of happiness and joy, but when Ginny came out into the forest this night and found one of her beloved creatures dead, all exuberance vanished from her to be replaced by anger. Looking up from where she was bent, Ginny's eyes flashed a strange shade of purple when she saw fresh shoe imprints on the ground in front of her leading away from the deceased falcon. Twigs were scattered everywhere as if someone was in a rush to get away from the area. The little girl rose, and her mystique changed. It was no longer happy but enraged and powerful. The anger started low in her feet, climbed up her legs, through her stomach and chest, and entered her throat where she let out a piercing scream that could be heard for miles. 

Earlier, Molly Weasley was climbing up the stairs to her daughter's bedroom to kiss her goodnight. Being the kind and loving person that she is, Mrs. Weasley gently rapped on Ginny's door to tell her that she was coming in. There was no answer, so Ginny's mom slowly opened the door to see her daughter's bed empty and the sheets thrown on the floor. Of course, Molly knew where Ginny went - the forest where she constantly played with her friends. Fear entered the middle-aged woman's mind because normally her daughter would only play in the forest during the day, but now it was night and who knew what could be lurking in there? 

"Arthur! ARTHUR!!!"

Running up the stairs quickly after hearing his wife's desperate shout, Arthur Weasley came to Molly's side in Ginny's room.

"Arthur! Ginny's not here! I think she went into the forest."

"But, why?"

"I don't know. We need to find her - who knows what could happen!"

"Okay, okay… just calm down, Molly. I'm sure that she's fine."

At that moment, Ginny's scream could be heard. Mistaking it for an outcry of fear and danger, Molly Weasley quickly located it and apparated to the spot where her daughter was with Arthur right behind her. 

Before Ginny could sprint off, Molly grabbed her little girl and held the squirming and screaming child tightly so that she could not run. Ginny's anger was at one of its highest peaks. The girl's body shook, and her hands were balled into tight fists. All that she wanted to do was follow those footsteps to the murderer and rip him or her to shreds. Yet, Ginny knew that her mother would never let go of her; instead, Ginny relaxed in her mother's arms and began to cry for the Tlaron, for the life that was so harshly taken away, and for the person that killed the bird. She hoped that he would always remember the horror that he did.

Ginny never wanted to go back to the forest again. 

*~* End Flashback*~*

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Ginny blinked a few times until her focus came back onto the children playing in the pond with the giant squid. She hoped that they would one day understand that there are people in this world that kill for fun and that are mean and rude and that not everything is set in stone. 

Turning away from the glittering, blue pond, the cheerful children, and the clear sky, Ginny walked back to the Gryffindor Tower. When she opened the door to the common room, Harry and Hermione were yet again snogging on the couch, not to Ginny's surprise.

__

Goody. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Draco had a very eventful day. He made fun of three third year Hufflepuffs, made a Ravenclaw cry, and got four fifth year Gryffindors in trouble, but time passes and eventually dinner came. 

Draco could not decide whether to arrive fashionably late again. Throwing on a pair of black pants and a loose, green shirt that had "I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt" written on it in small dark green letters across his chest, Draco walked into the Great Hall slightly early and cautiously looked for any signs of Blaise or Pansy. He really did not want to have them feeling him up again. Even at the thought of it, Draco shivered. Therefore, instead of sitting where he normally did, Draco sat on the windowsill directly behind the Slytherin table. Hopefully, Blaise and Pansy would take the hint that he didn't want to be bothered.

They did not, and if anything, they figured that he only wanted them more because he was sitting by himself. Like a pair of mind-controlled zombies, Pansy and Blaise started clawing at Draco and shouting his name loud enough that even the Gryffindors, including the trio and Ginny, at the other side of the dining hall could hear. And, again, Draco sprinted out of the room to hide between the curtains of his bed although he knew that Pansy and Blaise would still crack through the strong wards that he put up around his room specifically for them. The next time he would leave would be later that night for Weasley. 

He did not exactly know why he decided that he was going to tell that girl about the accident, which, now that he thought about it, was not exactly an accident. Deep inside of Draco, something compelled him to divulge all of his secrets to Ginny. It was quite strange, actually, as if that part of himself wanted to make her feel better and to take all of her troubles away. Ignoring the thought, Draco simply dismissed it and decided that he was thinking too much about it. Besides, he didn't care … right?

Wrong. When Draco turned around on the balcony earlier that day and looked straight into Ginny's eyes, he felt something inside of him turn on its axis. His eyes softened and scanned her face, noticing that although she was a Gryffindor (and by Draco's standards, Gryffindors are stupid), she was exquisitely beautiful… _whoa! That did not just happen. _Ah, but it did. And as much as Draco tried to deny it, he knew that he found Ginny pretty. 

Draco ran his hands through his silver hair and sat on his bed with one elbow on a bent knee. (A/N: *drrrroooolllll* ::wipes mouth:: err… sorry… back to the story!) 

__

Maybe deciding to tell Ginny wasn't such a great idea after all. But, I feel like I owe her. Draco heaved a large sigh, massaging his temples. _I wonder what I'm getting myself into. _

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ginny remained at the Gryffindor table after Draco yet again ran out of the dining hall like a frightened cat. She swore that she could see his eye twitch when Pansy and Blaise came over although she was extremely far away. Next to Ginny sat her best friend Branden, who was complaining about the Christmas decorations that the school puts up every year, for he was Jewish, and this year Hanukkah came late with the eighth day on Christmas Eve. (A/N: I'm Jewish! Happy Hanukkah! This is my time now to complain about the lack of Hanukkah decorations at Hogwarts …::smiles evilly::) 

"You would think that they could be nice enough to put some Menorahs in the windows, you know?" Jumping out of his seat and standing on the table, Branden shouted, "I demand Menorahs!"

Not surprisingly, everyone except a few students from each table, who stood up and cheered, just stared with confused expressions.

Before something could start from Branden's protest, Ginny grabbed the tall brown-haired, blue eyed boy and pushed him back into his seat.

"Sit, boy. Dinner now … protest later." (A/N: Inuyasha rocks!)

Although he was pushing against Ginny, she was able to keep him in his seat with a simple binding charm that glued his cute ass to the chair. It was positively known around the school that there existed a one to ten list of all of the drool-worthy guys in Hogwarts. Located comfortably at number one was none other than Draco Malfoy, number two Harry Potter, who knew about the list and was quite upset when he learned that he was behind his enemy, and number three Branden Rogala. 

Ginny was still extremely surprised when, during her third year, he had become friends with her although she was, and still is, an isolated and shy person. Branden, on the other hand, was extremely popular even with a couple Slytherins, which included Draco. But Branden was nicer than Ginny originally believed him to be, and he never gave up on trying to befriend her no matter how many times she ignored him and walked away when they first met. Branden was a very determined person, and whenever he had his mind set on something, he would get it. With his wicked sense of humor, he could break Ginny out of her shell when he was around. However, even after three years of friendship, Ginny still could never see herself with him. He just was not her type in that way. 

After dessert, Ginny broke the charm that glued her friend to his seat.

"You know, Ginny, because of that, my ass is going to feel numb for awhile. How can I get girls with it when I can't even feel it?!"

"You have your ways," replied Ginny trying to suppress a laugh, which came out anyway. It was also known that Branden liked to flirt … a lot. It didn't matter if the girl looked like a house elf. If she was a girl, than he didn't care. Flirting for him consisted of cheesy pick-up lines, conspicuously showing his rear off (it is cute), and giving roses to passing females. In all, he was a hopeless romantic at heart. 

"But it will be one less, and what am I going to do without it? Hold on, I have to see if it still works." Branden walked over to an unsuspecting Ravenclaw and sat on their table directly in front of her, beginning a conversation with the fifth year just to see if she glimpsed at his ass. She did, and he walked backed to his seat next to Ginny with a triumphant smile on his face.

"Behold the Ass King!"

"Well… um… Ass King, there's a piece of cake on your butt." Indeed there was, for when Branden sat down on the Ravenclaw table, he accidentally sat on a piece of iced vanilla cake, which was nicely smeared all over that area of his pants. 

"Well, Ginny, would you like to lick it off?"

"I think I'll decline, but if you ask any other female here, I'm sure she'll be happy to do so."

With that, Branden ran off to flirt with one of the Hufflepuffs. 

Soon, the plates as well as the food on all of the tables disappeared, signaling the end of dinner at exactly 8:30 p.m. Ginny rose from her wood chair and began the walk back to the common room when she remembered her "date" with Malfoy to meet at the Astronomy Tower at eleven 'o clock. Sprinting to her prefect room at the top of the tower, Ginny began rummaging through her clothes for something to wear.

_Wait a minute, why am I even looking? Even better, why do I even care?_

Ginny stopped right in her tracks and started to back away from her closet to face the mirror in front of her dresser. She decided against wearing anything nice for Malfoy because she could care less for that prat. 

_That's right. Well… a little gloss wouldn't hurt._

Delicately applying her sheer, shiny gloss to her lips, Ginny pulled her face slightly away from the mirror to examine her handy-work. She decided that her face was fine, but her hair was so frizzy that if she stuck a comb in it, it would stay. Although Ginny kept trying to tell herself that she didn't give about her appearance for Malfoy, she reluctantly applied a smoothing charm to her curls making them more shiny and sleek than wild and untamed. 

By the time Ginny finished, it neared 10:30, and since she did not have an invisibility cloak, it would take a while to make her way to the Astronomy Tower. After all, Filch and Mrs. Norris were precise when searching the hallways for out-of-bed students. Walking carefully down the staircase, Ginny entered the common room to find no one there to her relief. She quietly opened the door to see that the Fat Lady was sleeping, as usual. 

At night, despite its welcoming and bright presence, Hogwarts was spooky. From the lanterns and a-flame columns on the walls, shadows danced everywhere with some from the large trees outside. Ginny wrapped her arms around herself out of fear and because of the chill wind from the night air that crawled through the halls with a cool draft. In front of her, she could see her breath forming a clear cloud, and her eyes darted here and there for any signs of that scary old man and his disheveled cat. Strolling through the dark halls, Ginny arrived at the staircase that spiraled up to the Astronomy Tower. She slowly climbed the limestone stairs that seemed to span forever and finally arrived onto the floor of the tower to find no sign of Draco anywhere. Ginny checked her watch and noticed that it was 11:05. Slightly ticked off because he was late, Ginny moved over to one of the telescopes that was mounted on one of the balconies in the tower. She put her eye to the lens and the first star that she saw in the sky was the North Star despite the cloudy night that would signal the first snow of winter. Moving slightly back from the telescope, Ginny raised her face upwards to see the gray clouds that, with the darkness of night, looked almost black in color. 

"Beautiful night, isn't it?"

Ginny slowly turned around to come face to face with Draco Malfoy, the silver-haired, gray-eyed seventh year. In the moonlight, he shined with an ephemeral glow although deep within his eyes, Ginny could see through him to the harrowed person within. Eyes speak a thousand words, and by looking straight into them, someone can see the deepest secrets of that human's soul. 

"For someone who likes overcast skies and freezing air, I guess it would be."

A slight smile creeped across his face.

_Hmm… she does have a sense of humor._

Despite her best efforts to ignore the thought, Ginny found his smile to be endearing.

_Maybe he can be nice._

"It does make your hair look less like its on fire, you know?"

Ginny furrowed her eyebrows and glared at Draco with a face that if looks could kill, Draco would be squirming on the floor in excruciating pain. 

__

Okay, maybe not. 

"By any chance does the word "polite" exist in your vocabulary?"

"Let me check … nope. But I still have thousands of girls salivating over me."

"Hmm … right. Well, since I find you obnoxious, that would make one less."

"You shouldn't be so sure of yourself, Weasley. You might find yourself as one of them later."

"Doubt it."

Draco moved over to where Ginny was standing on the balcony, placing his hands on the banister and gazing out onto the grounds. The two stood there for what seemed forever in comfortable silence. 

He was nervous about telling Ginny his secret, for, after all, he did keep it to himself for five and a half years without any trouble. Yet, when Draco caught Ginny that night, he felt as if he should tell her. Yet, of course, he was still apprehensive. 

"So… Weasley… um… how's school? Is Scar-Face still ignoring you?"

Ginny looked up into Draco's face and skimmed it taking in his perfectly wispy, thick silver hair, his stormy gray eyes, and his chiseled features.

"You're neglecting the reason why I came here, Malfoy."

"Right. Well, what do you want me to say?"

"You should be the one telling me."

"You know, you're very commanding when you want to be."

"That's what my brothers say."

"So…"

"…so."

Another span of silence came, but this time it was not comfortable. Draco kept shifting from foot to foot, and Ginny kept staring into his eyes waiting for an explanation for how he caught her that night. 

"Malfoy, I'm not going to wait any longer. Either you tell me, or I'm leaving." As Ginny began to walk away, Draco started to whisper. She could faintly hear his voice, for his face was turned downwards, and her back was to him. 

"It happened five and a half years ago over Christmas Break during my first year."

Turning her head to Draco, Ginny glided back to where he was. She swiveled her face to gaze directly into his eyes.

"My father forced me to go on one of his hunting expeditions on a freezing night when a heavy snow started to fall despite my protests. I'm not one for killing animals, and I'm also not one for running around in a blizzard. 

"Anyway, my dad had made a portkey that would take us into the heart of the forest behind our house. We found ourselves in the mist of all of these trees and left the portkey next to this extremely large one. My father grabbed my shoulder and told me to follow him…."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*~*Flashback*~*

"Father, please let go. You're hurting me."

"Shut up, Draco. Pain is life. Get used to it."

"Yes, father," whispered Draco, lowering his eyes to the ground.

"Now, come. You must learn how to hunt. Who knows? Maybe one day your scrawny and despicable self will shoot down Potter."

"But, why can't I just use my wand?"

"A real man uses a gun although it's a muggle artifact. It's much more … cruel."

"Yes, father."

Trudging through the forest in the deep, white snow that was as white and pure as a unicorn, Lucius used his wand to locate any animal within the area. It found a bird sitting on a log a few yards away (A/N: I'm American, so I'm using our measuring system.) Resting on a fallen tree, the two found a unique looking creature with green, brown, and gold feathers licking its plumage after having eaten a rabbit whose carcass lied about ten feet to the east. 

"Shoot it, Draco. Now."

"But, father … I … I … can't."

Lucius became slightly angered by his son's refusal to follow his instructions and decided to use some force to get his son to murder the bird. Taking his gun out of his pocket, Lucius pointed it at Draco's head and moved his finger over to the trigger.

"Boy, you do as I say because if you don't, I will shoot you. I can always have another son."

"Father… father, please!"

Lucius turned off the safety on the gun and pressed the nozzle even harder onto his son's silver-haired head. 

"I mean it, Draco."

Draco looked into his father's eyes and saw mischief, evil, and a hint of fun flickering across them. Draco began to cry.

"Shut up, boy!"

A loud thunk could be heard, for Lucius hit his son over his head with the pistol leaving a gash that blood spilled out from. Resuming its position next to his head, Lucius continued to press the gun against his son's visage. 

"NOW!!!!!!"

Crying hysterically now, Draco hesitantly raised the gun, pointing it at the bird, and fired one shot that hit the creature in the chest, which let out a shrill call that could probably reach the heavens. 

"Good, son. We can return to the mansion now."

"Can… can I have two minutes alone father to … um… examine my kill?"

Lucius smiled evilly with a smirk ten times worse than Draco's.

"Of course."

Lucius began to walk back to where he dropped the portkey near the large tree leaving his son to stare at the bird. Draco slowly approached it with tears still streaming down his face. He didn't want to kill it, but his father had a gun to his head and knowing Lucius, he would have killed his son even though he was his father's heir. Any Malfoy that had a foible that would cause the family problems was no Malfoy at all. Killing that despicable person would be better than letting him or her continue to embarrass the family name. 

Draco, small and scrawny at twelve years old (A/N: I'm making his birthday November 17), stared down at the creature that he brutally murdered with the gun that his gloved hand still held. His eyes moved from the pistol to the bird, from the bird to the pistol, and he began to cry again. Yet, when his focus returned to the bird, it started to move its wings slightly and faintly open its eyes to stare directly at the boy. Draco stared back, and before he could run away from it, the creature swiftly moved its large wing to touch Draco's leg. Time seemed to slow down, and his vision went blurry although he could still see the bird. Now, the creature's eyes were completely open and looked directly into Draco's. As it did, the bird's power, essence, or whatever one might call it started to leave the animal, travel through its wing, and enter Draco's leg where it then spread throughout. Around the boy's body there was a bluish cloud of mist that quickly sank into his skin producing strong winds that whipped Draco's hair and clothes this way and that and rustled the leaves in the trees. However, as fleetly as it came, the wind died out and before totally expiring, the Tlaron Falcon moved its wing away from Draco, blinked its eyes, and nodded its head. 

Draco stood frozen on the spot and frantically started to look around his surroundings to make sure that no one, especially his father, noticed what just happened. Staring up into the sky, Draco saw a full moon whose light glowed everywhere in the forest. 

That's when he heard quick footsteps that sounded something like sprinting. 

High tailing out of the area from fright of both what just happened and the approaching sound, Draco ran back to where the portkey and his father were. Once they returned to Malfoy Mansion, the twelve-year-old boy ran up to his room and threw up in the toilet in his bathroom. Looking into the glass doors that surrounded the shower, Draco saw his pupils begin to change shape to look exactly like the falcon's; they were not spherical anymore but instead looked like a stretched out oval. His nails began to morph, too, becoming more like pointed claws. Draco's body mutated, for it was no longer solely his but a mix of both a bird and a boy. 

*~*End Flashback*~*

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"So, that's what I am, Weasley, and ever since that day, on a full moon and some nights before and after it, I become this hybrid creature. I mean, I am myself when it happens. I still have control over my mind and body and still look relatively the same with the exception of my eyes and nails. Oh, and I can fly, too."

After telling Ginny his story, which took about a half an hour to explain, he expected the girl to at least feel some sympathy for him. What he got was the exact opposite.

Ginny's face was shadowed behind her hair which started falling around her visage in thick ringlets, and that old anger that she felt five and a half years ago started to rise again starting at her feet and climbing up through her body. 

"It was you, wasn't it?" she whispered in a voice that sounded quiet yet enraged and menacing.

"What do you mean it was me?"

"You killed the bird. It was you who killed that Tlaron Falcon five and a half years ago."

"How would you know? You weren't there. You were at home in your shack."

"Don't you EVER insult my home or my family," yelled the girl whose anger started to emanate off her and rise into the air. Strangely Draco felt somewhat frightened. He started to move slowly away from her. "And I _was _there."

"Wha… how!?"

"That's not important at the moment."

"Listen, I couldn't stop from shooting the bird, Weasley."

Ginny, whose eyes went from a light blue to a deep blue/purple, raised her head to look at Draco, and now, both of them were shouting.

"Yes, you could have! You could have resisted from killing it! All you had to do was run from your father."

"He had a fucking gun to my head, and trust me, he would have pulled the trigger! All I am to him is a toy that he can wave around in peoples' faces and then discard when he is tired of it…. It was my life over the bird's. What would you have done if you had to choose?!"

Ginny lowered her gaze. 

_What would I have done? I would have sacrificed myself for the life of that falcon._

However, when Ginny started to put herself in the situation of having such a brutal and abusive father and a gun to her head, she realized that she would have done the exact same thing as Draco. As much as she had tried to deny it, Ginny would have killed the bird for the sake of her life, too.

"Your father isn't like mine, Weasley. In fact, he's the exact opposite. He is cruel and aggressive while your dad is everything that I wish mine would be."

Draco moved closer to Ginny a little warily at first for fear that she would explode again.

"Listen, Malfoy… I'm sorry about yelling at you earlier for killing the bird. You're right. It _was_ your life over the falcon's. And about having your accidental powers, let's just say that it makes you a little more interesting."

"As if I wasn't before?"

"Nope."

"My self-esteem just shot up ten points, you know?" replied Draco with his usual sarcastic tone. 

The two teenagers looked at each other in silence until Ginny averted her gaze to her hand where she felt a drop of water land on it. Draco turned his head to stare, too, and at the same time, both of them looked up towards the gray sky just as the first snow of the season began to fall with the two standing directly under it. It was a perfect scene with the snow falling into their hair, on the balcony, and over the grounds. The Christmas lights in the trees were illuminated, and in the sky, a full moon hung. They both turned their heads to look at the other, and before either of them knew what they were doing, Draco and Ginny began to lean closer.

But, then, Ginny's mind started to run again, telling her that one, Malfoy was less than a foot away from her and two, that if she didn't stop herself now, she wouldn't be able to. 

"I… I have to go. It's almost one."

Draco also noticed his proximity to her and quickly pulled his head away.

"Right. You should go back to your common room then."

"Aren't you going to go to yours?"

"No. On the week of a full moon, I can never sleep. It's a kickback."

"Oh … well, goodnight then."

"Goodnight, Weasley."

Ginny began to walk away when a thought entered her mind. She should say something about him saving her that night.

"Malfoy?"

The silver haired boy turned his head to look at Ginny who was standing in the doorway that opened up to the balcony. 

"Yea, Weasley?"

"Thanks for rescuing me, and … call me Ginny."

Before Draco could say something, she walked out of the tower and began the long trip back to her room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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Author's Note: Yea! I hope you liked the chapter because I really tried hard. This is my first time writing a story. I am so sick of writing essays that I needed to do this. So please review, but, of course, don't flame. I just might have to hurt you if you do. 


	5. In My Room

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Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing because if I did, I wouldn't be writing this right now. I would be on a beach in Hawaii with hot surfer guys feeding me grapes and fanning me with large leaves. 

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Author's Note: I am SO sorry that I haven't updated. It's extremely hard to do so when I have homework coming at me from all angles. I actually should be writing an essay right now. Read and enjoy, and remember, please review! Love ya!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 5: In My Room

__

He was in a cage surrounded by blue, iridescent bars that immured him in the structure. He sat huddled with his knees drawn up, arms around his legs, and a gash with blood staining it on his head. His hair, body, and eyes glowed with a white/blue light that swirled gracefully around the cage and he. 

The walls and columns in the room were made of limestone while the floor was covered in a deep blue marble almost the color of the ocean at night. There were no windows, no doors, no way for anyone to enter or exit.

However, Ginny then saw herself, purpled eyed and in a cloud of diaphanous fog that shimmered in the glow from the aura around the caged figure. The dream Ginny stood directly in front of him wearing a dress that was intertwined with hues of white and gold. Outstretching her arm and holding her hand palm up, she delicately touched Draco's fingers, and on her palm was etched like a tattoo a figure of the Celtic Spiral of Life, a sign with no beginning or end that indicates birth, death, and the afterlife. Yet, the moment their digits brushed together, the scene changed although they remained in the same spot. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Slowly creeping over the horizon, creating colors of lively pink, yellow, gold, and blue, a sun rose in the sky haloing everything in its path a shade lighter than what it was in the black of night. Although it was still dark outside, the signs of a new day could be seen. Birds started chirping, the squid in the lake was becoming restless, and the movements in the forest were beginning to wane. 

The sun's light creeped through her window, throwing its mixed colors over the bedroom's walls and the sixteen year old's face highlighting her red hair with colors of gold and orange. Feeling the sun on her visage, Ginny's body began to tell her to wake. Her fingers began to delicately move, and her eyelids started to gently flutter open. Two seconds later, her heart-shaped alarm went off signaling a new day of school. 

"Morning all of you early birds out there. This is WBR station 110.6 playing all of your newest hits. Here's a song fresh from America called Die Another Day by Madonna to wake all of you up!"

Over the summer, the Ministry had decided (with the help of Ginny's muggle infatuated father) that incorporating some muggle inventions into the wizarding life would not be so terrible after all. Finally, wizards created the Wizarding Broadcasting Radio connected by charms and spells and a special type of instrument that could record your thoughts without having to write them down, rather like a diary without the feather. 

Releasing a groan from having been woken from her slumber, Ginny looked over to the clock that kept blinking "7:00" in a gamut of colors that swirled and changed. She grumpily moved her arm over to the alarm and pressed down on the "off" button while swinging her legs over her red four-poster bed. Last night she had hardly any sleep after returning to her room at around 1:30 leaving her with only five and a half hours of sleep. Therefore, when she tried to stand up, it was no mystery that she toppled right over herself, pulling the sheets off the bed with her. 

"Ugh. Something to blame on Malfoy."

Putting her hands flat on the floor, she raised herself up and moved over to her mirror where she noticed her baggy eyes, frizzy hair, and a crease on the side of her face from lying on a fold in the pillow. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she grabbed her wand off the dresser and sleepily murmured a few spells to fix her hair and eyes. It wasn't much because she still looked groggy from her careless posture and unmistakable frown. Ginny pulled open her bra/underwear drawer and looked for a bra to put on. Realizing that they were all the same ones (The Magical Miracle Bra!) because she was just a size A, she grabbed a white one and slipped it on when she heard a few loud, obnoxious knocks on her balcony's French doors.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When the sunrise crept over the horizon, Draco was still on the balcony in the Astronomy Tower sitting on the railing watching over the grounds and the school, which he had half a view of, including both the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw towers. 

Repeatedly, he kept telling himself that last night was probably the strangest night of his life so far. Normally, he would just keep everything to himself and utter not to a soul what he was or how he became it. However, Ginny was different; he just felt, well, weird, for lack of a better term, around her especially after she yelled at him last night.

_Strange, eh, it was probably just her temper._

Many people in the school knew that Weasleys had tempers, and horrible ones at that. Getting on their bad side was not something that someone wanted to do. 

As the sun began to rise and the full moon began to fall, Draco's oval eyes began to become more spherical and his claws again morphed into blunt nails although he could still fly. No matter if it was day or a new moon, the ability to fly still stayed with him although his insomnia and enhanced features died away. 

Rubbing his eyes with his articulate hands, Draco tried to erase the memory of telling Ginny his secret. Although Malfoy's were not supposed to divulge anything or show any emotion, he could not help telling it to Ginny. It was something that he couldn't quite put a finger on that made him do it.

Looking over at the castle, Draco noticed a balcony coming out from a tower and a red haired girl moving around inside. Sneering with that irresistible smirk, Draco knew of only one person with hair like that - Ginny. Standing up on the railing, Draco pushed himself off it and gracefully flew against the wind that was pushing him back to the Astronomy Tower towards the redhead. Landing quietly on her balcony, as if to not disturb the girl, he slyly walked over to the French doors to see a tired half-naked girl wearing a white bra, and being the guy that he was, he _really_ wanted in. He rapped on the door to catch her attention and whipping her head around, Ginny saw Draco (still with that arrogant smirk on) standing right smack outside her door.

"Let me in, Ginny. It's cold."

Ginny, of course, was quite stunned. Normally, guys do not just appear on her balcony early in the morning, let alone at all. _How did he get out there?!_

"How… how …."

"I can fly, remember? And you left the curtains around your door open. I was able to see you. Can I come in now?"

"Uh… um sure, I guess."

Ginny quickly went over to the French door and unlocked it, letting in Draco and a cold breeze that made her come back to reality from being surprised by his unusual appearance outside of her room. It made her _very_ aware of that she was only wearing pajama bottoms and a bra. Draco seemed to notice her awareness from the "Oh shit" look on her face.

"I don't mind, you know. Girls in bras are fine with me."

Quickly Ginny ran behind her black and gold Chinese screen and pulled on a robe. She didn't move from that spot out of embarrassment from her being half-naked in front of a Malfoy.

Staying behind the wall, she made a quick gesture with her arm and moved her index finger to point at the door. Draco didn't take the hint. 

"I'm not going anywhere. I just came by to say hi, and to see a scantily clad girl."

"Well you did," Ginny replied from behind the screen with her arm still extended. "Now get out."

"Unless you haven't noticed, I _am_ in Gryffindor tower where if a certain ugly brother of yours, his equally repulsive best friend with his mudblood girlfriend find me, not to mention coming out of your room early in the morning, I'll be pulverized to shreds."

"And how lovely that will be. Now out and besides, I wake up thirty minutes earlier than anyone in the tower, and even if Harry and Hermione found you, they'd be too into themselves to notice a Slytherin sneaking out of the common room."

"So they _are_ going out. Too bad Potter never dated you, Weasel," and with an extremely annoying girlish tone, he added to make her angry enough to come out from behind the curtain, " 'His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled -' "

That did it. Abruptly moving away from the Chinese screen and clad in her fluffy green robe, she clenched her fists and moved swiftly over to where Draco (still grinning after knowing that he accomplished making the Weasley temper come out) stood. 

In a threatening tone, Ginny muttered, "Say it again."

Curling his lips upwards back into the famous Malfoy sneer, Draco repeated, " 'His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad -' "

*SLAP!* That also did it, and quickly appearing on Draco's pale face was a lovely red hand print.

"How _dare _you walk into _my_ room and start insulting me out of nowhere! First, last night, I tried being nice to you, hoping that maybe, for once, you'd start acting civil to me back and stop calling me that stupid, idiotic name "Weasel!" I told you to call me Ginny!"

Draco continued to stand there and just stare back down at the furious sixth year with that arrogant smirk. This just made Ginny even more angry for his insouciant attitude towards her noticeable rage. 

"And secondly, I DO NOT LIKE HARRY ANYMORE! HE'S A STUPID FOOL AND I HATE HIM! HE TREATS ME LIKE A LITTLE GIRL AND CARELESSLY SNOGS HIS FUCKING GIRLFRIEND RIGHT IN FRONT ME!

"And, YOU! YOU HAVE THE ABSOLUTE NERVE TO THROW SOMETHING THAT I REGRET THAT I DID IN THE PAST RIGHT IN MY FACE!" Ginny huffed extremely loud as her face became the same color as her hair. Her rage began to dwindle somewhat, yet was still tangibly there. "Are you just an ass by nature, or do you just like to act as one?! What's your problem, Malfoy?"

Knock! Knock! Knock! Turning her face towards the sound coming from the door that led from her room to the hallway, Ginny heard a recognizable voice.

"Ginny, it's me Hermione. You woke me up; I heard you shouting … and was that Malfoy's name that I heard, too?"

Ginny didn't move towards the door out of one: fear and two: the fact that Malfoy was standing in the middle of her prefect's room. 

Hermione, on the other hand, thought something was extremely wrong after hearing no reply from Ginny.

"Ginny! Open the door! Let me in!"

Turning towards Draco, she was about to finish the last of her argument in a whisper when she felt his soft lips brush gently against hers. 

"See you … Ginny." And with a quick flash of his arrogant, yet sexy, sneer, he walked over to her balcony, climbed on the ledge, and jumped off it, flying in the air to the Slytherin common room.

Ginny stood stunned in the middle of her bedroom staring at the space where Draco just stood while Hermione still knocked rudely on the door. At that moment, her mind went completely and utterly blank. She moved her hand over to her lips and touched them with fingers just to check if that tingling sensation was still there from when Draco had kissed her.

_Was… was that for real or am I just dreaming?_

Knock! Knock! Knock! The sounds snapped her back into reality and she quickly realized that everything that just happened with Draco was most definitely not a dream. From the door, Hermione's knocks could still be heard, growing with more impatience and apprehension as every second passed. Moving to the door, Ginny unlocked it and opened it for Hermione to enter.

Hermione, afraid that something was wrong after looking at the girl's bewildered and confused face, rudely brushed pass Ginny with her wand raised to see if anything was out of place. Everything looked fine. She turned back to look at the sixth year whose head was leaning against the doorframe and whose eyes were staring at no thing in particular with a dreamy essence to them.

"Ginny?" whispered Hermione in a concerned tone. "Are you alright?"

Shaking her head with a delicate motion, Ginny came back to reality for the second time in a row. 

_Sigh …. Something else I can blame on Draco._

"Ginny … why are your fingers on your lips?"

Without consciously knowing it, the redhead's fingers were still placed on her lips where Draco previously kissed her. Noticing this, Ginny quickly moved them away and turned to face Hermione.

"Oh … um… no reason. Just tired, I guess. It's hard to know what you're doing when you're tired, right?" Ginny replied with a fake smile that Hermione ignorantly thought was real.

"Right. Well, you were yelling and I heard you shout Malfoy's name. Are you sure you're okay?"

_Think, Ginny, think._

"Yea… I'm, I'm fine, actually. I was just … uh … practicing what I would say if Malfoy made fun of me today."

"Okay, just don't be so loud next time, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'll see you at breakfast, then?"

"Breakfast it is," replied Ginny, holding the door open to let Hermione out. After the brunette walked out of her room and into the hallway, Ginny shut the door and went over to her bed where she put her head in her pillow and let thoughts of Draco enter her mind. 


	6. Forever Can Seem Like Eternity

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my twisted plot and my obsession with Draco.

A/N: Yea! The Next Chapter! Sorry for making you all wait but I had a lot of work, again. Well, I get used to it after a while. By the way, I made this chapter extra long because I'm going to be gone for a week and a half and will not be able to write anything. So, here you go! My next chapter in my twisted world of d/g. 

****

**NEW A/N**: I am so SO sorry, but I have a tendency to never be happy with what I write. It's my nature so sue me. I changed the ending to this because one: it was not Draco and two: the new ending that I came up with will help me later on with more subplots. I am SO sorry again for the inconvenience, but this ending will definitely cause more angst and fluff later on - so be prepared. LOL. It was also between doing this or ending the story, which I really didn't want to do because I love it so far. So, please reread the ending if you read the one before it. 

Chapter Six: Forever Can Seem Like Eternity

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

__

Dear Athena, 

I changed my mind. I didn't go to breakfast this morning. Instead, I am sitting here on my bed writing in you, confiding in you. I'm stunned, so stunned that it is hard for me to put words together at the moment. This has neither happened to me before nor have I ever suspected it would. 

Ever since I was thirteen and started seeing other people have boyfriends or girlfriends, I've wondered if I would ever have what they did. Now, almost four years later, it still doesn't happen. Whenever I'm angry or sad, I just wish someone would be there to hold me and make it all better. But when it doesn't, I feel this tightening around my heart like there are chains there that twist and turn laughing in my face and telling me that no one will ever come, and then I feel like crying. I don't even have to try hard to do so. The tears just come in a river that never ends. And I'll sit on my bed, with my head in my pillow, and wonder when - when will my day come? Will it take forever or is it just a few moments away?

You know how you feel after a missed opportunity or when you think that if you did something different, it would have come out better in the end? No, no you wouldn't. You're just a diary - no offense. Yet, everyday, I feel that if I turned a different corner in the hallway or waited a couple more minutes in the library, something could have happened to me - something exciting, dangerous, different. I want to feel like I'm soaring above the clouds where no one can come and touch me.

That's how I felt when Malfoy kissed me. That's why I was stunned. I've never felt like that before.

Or maybe it was just because I've never been kissed and was just stunned by the fact that someone did. I was actually planning on becoming a nun if no one did this year. No seriously! But there go those plans. 

Although it was only for a second or two, when he kissed me, I felt this shell around me break and shatter and those chains around my heart disappear. If only it could have lasted longer, but Hermione was at the door, suspicious as always whenever I'm quiet.

God, I must have looked so dumb when Draco opened his eyes. Mine were open because, again, I was stunned - completely and utterly stunned. But, when Draco opened his, he didn't look any different. His eyes looked the same - mischevious and nonchalant as always. He didn't care that he kissed me. I'm just another piece of meat to him that he has fun teasing with. Why does he have to do this to me? Why does he have to make me feel so weird and not give that he does? I've always wanted my first kiss to be romantic, under the stars, and in front of a lake or something that will give off an essence of serenity. But instead, I just get the ass playing games with my head, and that pisses the shit out of me.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ginny was lying down on her stomach on her bed as she closed her red diary that kept all of her secrets. Tapping the cover three times and then performing a spell that would make the pages appear white and empty, she put the diary on the night-table next to her bed. The alarm clock kept obnoxiously blinking 1:00 repeatedly under the dismal light from the gray sky that crept through her window. She tried to look around her room, especially at the spot where Draco once stood, but her eyes were cloudy from crying.

Ginny knew that she never wanted to cry over a boy again, but she couldn't hold the tears back. The last time she cried over something as stupid and irrelevant as a boy was over the summer when she opened her eyes and saw how Harry would never pay attention to her and how he was always preoccupied with stealing glances at Hermione, who would occasionally do the same to him. And, oh no!, they were so not furtive. They had to do it at the Weasley's table at dinner and at the huge parties that Fred and George regularly threw when all could see. So, no, their feelings were not kept solely between themselves; they were very public indeed. And it just must have been a coincidence that those stolen kisses were always in front of Ginny. Just a coincidence … right, and pigs can fly. Whenever Ginny would notice those glances or sweet kisses between the two of them, she would bottle her feelings of sadness up inside in a little container in the depths of her heart where she would release them later on the windowsill in her room. Of course, she would keep the window closed, so that no one could hear her and she could keep her emotions to herself. However, it was at those moments that she wished that she did have someone to hold on to and cry into his arms, telling him all that she had ever felt, wished, dreamed of. Then, they would kiss under the moonlight and he would make everything better. 

And who else comes along to mock all of her wants in her face. Draco, the enemy, the ferret, the macho asshole, had to come into her room and kiss her just to get off of that look on her face, which must have been pretty stupid after all. Her first kiss was not in a million years supposed to be with a guy who she, at the moment, positively hated and who made her feel like shit most of the time. Her first kiss was not supposed to be with a guy who would make fun of it later and who was, most importantly, her bete noire.

_And for that,_ Ginny said to herself while staring out the window towards the bleak sky and drying her eyes with her hands, _I will make him pay._

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After Draco flew to his Slytherin prefect room from Ginny's, he immediately went to his dresser while planting his feet in front of his full-length mirror and leaning against his closet door. Draco stared at himself for about five minutes. His hair was windblown, his clothes slightly disheveled, and his cheeks had a pinkish tint on them from the cold weather. All in all, he did not look like he normally did with his cleanly pressed clothes, slicked back hair, and perfectly pale face. However, Draco didn't move an inch to fix anything, for his mind was distracted, instead, with an image of Weasley's stunned face. 

Truthfully, Draco did not know exactly why he kissed her. Perhaps it was instinct or perhaps it was because he just wanted her to shut up and to stop raving and ranting. Yes, that was it; he wanted her to shut up. Running his hand through his hair and making it more messy than before, Draco thought about that look on her face that seemed like a mix of surprise, wonder, and, strangely, sadness. Why sadness: Draco had no idea. But that made her look even more beautiful. 

Hearing a slight tap on his window, Draco shook his head in an effort to erase Ginny from his mind, which did not work. Her sad and surprised face kept looming before his eyes that he turned to his windowsill to find a midnight colored owl perched on it. It was his father's to Draco's dismay. He was hoping not to see, hear, or listen to him until winter break, which was about one week away. Tied to the dark owl's leg was a neatly rolled piece of parchment with the Malfoy coat of arms on it - two green snakes wrapped around a gleaming sword. Draco detached the letter, and the bird proudly lifted its beak, much like Malfoys raising their noses in the air, and flew off gracefully into the dreary sky. Blowing a piece of silvery hair out of his eyes, Draco sat lazily down on his bed and opened the letter although he already knew what would be written on it. It was his seventh year; his mark would be given soon. 

_Draco,_

Of course, as you know, it is nearing winter break. You shall soon join us as a force. You shall bear the mark. You shall be loyal. Voldemort will arrive at the manor towards the end of the break. I will pick you up from school on the second to last day of break, January 4. You should at least be grateful that I am leaving your despicable self there for Christmas and New Years, but then again, who would want to celebrate them with you? I'm certainly happy that I don't have to. 

I also have not heard of anything about Potter as I have instructed you to before you left for Hogwarts. It is important that we know of Potter's every move. Do not disobey me, boy. You know what will happen if you do… 

Also, when you meet Voldemort, do not lie. I cannot stress that enough. He will find out if you are. He will search every crevice of your mind, so be prepared for pain, but that is the price that you must pay to be in the inner circle, a privileged position. 

Do not disobey me, boy.

Father

Standing up from his bed, Draco angrily crumpled up the letter and threw it into the roaring fireplace across from him. He hated his father with a passion, so Draco would try to destroy anything that had to do with him. Therefore, he watched with glee when the edges began to smoke and sizzle, but then it stopped doing so and instead, the letter flew out of the fireplace. Draco ran over to where the letter landed and picked it up, noticing that it felt cool. As his fingers ran the length of the parchment, the original writing on it disappeared to be replaced with red, bleeding letters that read "I told you not to disobey me."

Soon, the letter erupted in flames with Draco's fingers still on it. When his fingers caught on fire, he jumped on the letter to put the flames out as it released a malevolent laugh that was an exact replica of Lucius's: evil with malice resounding from every part of it. Draco's eyes opened wide out of fear. Thinking quickly, he ran into his bathroom, turned on the facet in the sink, and put his hands under the cold, running water. Smoke rose from the sink to envelope the bathroom in a cloud of gray. Draco glanced down at his hands to see third degree burns forming. 

The pain was horrible, and it felt like a thousand knives coated in deadly poison were piercing his hands. Blisters began to form, and his skin started to turn a pink/brown color. Draco tried to hide the pain by putting on an emotionless mask and biting his lips, but soon they began to bleed, releasing a metallic taste into his mouth. He could not subdue his screams of pain anymore, and as he opened his mouth to take in a breath of air, Draco yelled in agony while shouting obscene words. From his bedroom, Lucius' laughter was vibrating off the walls and increasing in pitch as every second passed. 

Sliding down the wall next to his sink and wrapping his arms carefully around his legs as to not let his burned hands touch, Draco finally cried into his arms letting feelings of anger, pain, and hate for his father come to the surface. He hid them for too long, and like anything that is kept under pressure, it will eventually come to the surface and explode. This was the first time that Draco had ever cried; all the frustration just accumulated over the years to this point. The years of abuse and of torture and of agony, but the agony was not always caused by his father. It was also because of himself, of what he was. It hurt keeping the secret to himself kind of like feeling guilty after telling a lie. Then, there were those nights where he couldn't sleep. Insomnia was commonplace for him now. He also couldn't tell anyone for fear of putting that person in danger. He did not want pity either. It was his problem; he had to deal with it, but then he told Ginny, going against his implied vow to keep it to himself. Yet, now he finally felt guilty for doing so. He put her in danger - a danger beyond imagination. What if Voldemort found out about his secret? What if he found out that Ginny knew? 

He moved his head to look at his hands, the ones so discolored and strangely textured from the burns. The ones that, if things kept going the way they were, would one day kill people under a mask of fear. The ones that would one day serve Voldemort and probably become his loyal first commander, murdering muggles, mudbloods, and purebloods alike for either a purpose or just for fun. Was this what he wanted to become? Was he destined to be like his father, a mindless slave to an equally mindless tyrant? 

Draco did not like to kill. He already saw what could become of it, for what he was resulted from a killing. So, then, what would happen if he slaughtered hundreds of people?

Draco thought of the man who did this to him, his father - a man who had all the power, or most of it, that the world could offer. But was power something that Draco wanted? He had power already. How could being a creature of the night not have its power? He most definitely already had an advantage over both his father and Voldemort. But what about respect? Did Draco have respect? With his father, Draco did, but independently he did not. All of the "friends", if they could be called that, were because of his father, making it only temporary admiration. Without his father, Draco would lose all of those who "respected" him. 

An idea formulated in Draco's mind. If he became a death eater, than Voldemort's followers would revere him and look up to him. Not only would they respect him, but they would also fear him, and with fear, Draco could have all of the respect that he wanted.

Lucius' laughing ceased, and a blank quiet took its place.

Draco's eyes never moved from his hands, which were still as discolored as they were before and still hurt like hell although now it felt like a few knives stabbing into them instead of a thousand. Slowly moving his body and using the wall as a prop to stand up, he moved over to look into the bathroom's mirror. His eyes lost their silver glint and were simply a dull gray, and reflected in the mirror was the sky, which looked completely black. It was going to snow again. 

On Draco's night-table lay his wand. Moving slowly though his smoke-filled room, Draco arrived at the table and bent gently down so that he was at eye level with the wand. He knew it would hurt to pick it up with his burnt hands, but it was the only way. He could not leave his room smelling like this. It would arose suspicion from both the teachers and the whole school. Draco picked up his wand and closed his eyes shut from the pain as he let out another piercing yell. He needed to put the wand down and quickly so he muttered the incantation that made his room once again smell like him. Draco then threw the wand down on the ground and sprinted to the hospital wing. The pain had become too much for him to bear. Picking up his wand no longer made his hands feel like a few or a thousand knives piercing into him. Now, it felt like they were on fire all over again. 

Draco ran like hell through the halls in the school, and when he arrived at the archway that opened into the hospital wing, he shouted for Madam Pompfrey who came sprinting to Draco thinking that an Apocalypse was upon the school from the way he was screaming. 

"Draco Malfoy? What happened?"

Through ragged breaths, Draco swiftly replied, "I burned them. I burned my hands, and God, it hurts."

That's when the nurse looked down to see the boy's disgusting palms. Madam Pompfrey could not believe the sight in front of her, for normally Draco would just come in with a broken nose or arm from quidditch and trying to beat Harry to the snitch. But, this was different. This time, Draco's hands were burned. She knew that she had to act fast, for from the look on Draco's face, she knew the pain must be horrible.

"Quick, Draco. Get on the bed and stay still. Let me go get something." Madam Pompfrey ran off and came back as quickly as she left only she had a clear red bottle with her.

"This might hurt a little."

"As if it doesn't hurt already," Draco said through gritted teeth.

The nurse opened up the top to the bottle and began to pour the clear contents over Draco's hands not caring whether the substance got on the sheets. It felt like needles were being punctured into his hands when the liquid was poured on them. However, the needle-like pain began to disappear as well as the feeling of knives and his hands on fire. Raising his hands into the air, Draco watched as they started to return to their normal pale color although here and there, a few scars could be seen. 

"Sorry, Draco, but those will stay forever."

Draco was still looking at his hands, amazed that they were almost completely normal again and not covered in red blisters.

He moved his head to look at Madam Pompfrey through his sad and dull gray eyes. "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome," the nurse paused afraid to ask her next question. Madam Pompfrey was not stupid. Although the other teachers might have been and ignored the cuts and bruises that Draco came in with after summer and breaks, Madam knew, or speculated pretty well, what was happening at Draco's home. She could guess what kind of person Lucius was. Seeing those marks on his son and the rumor, which she could not believe was still a rumor and that no one had actually investigated it thoroughly, that his father was a Death Eater gave away his personality. Too occupied with her thoughts to recognize what was coming out of her mouth, she asked the question.

"What happened Draco?" Yes, she didn't exactly ask if his father was abusing him, but what she asked could have implied it.

Draco, on the other hand, was surprised that she questioned him. Nobody had asked why he would have random scars or bruises before. This nurse was the first person to ask, and her care just took him by surprise. 

Should he tell her what his father was doing to him? No. No he couldn't. What if his father found out about that too? He had already put Ginny in danger; he was most definitely not going to put the first person who cared about his whereabouts in danger either.

Draco smiled at the woman and created a most ingenious lie being sure to use his charms. "Oh, Madam, I am so sorry about this. I was trying to ignite my fireplace this morning because it was freezing cold when I couldn't find my wand. I must have displaced it. So, I tried to do it the muggle way, you know, with a match. Well, I found a packet of them on top of the fireplace (I guess they are placed there for incidents like this) and tried to use it. But, I've never seen such things before, and when I finally got the stick to catch fire, I was so happy that I figured this strange muggle invention out that I didn't notice the flames growing in height. I tried to put it out with my hands (I did not know better), and they caught on fire. I am so very sorry for the inconvenience this early in the morning."

"It's one, Draco."

"Well, I guess time flies when your hands are on fire."

Again, Madam Pompfrey was not stupid. Of course she did not believe Draco's lie. But what could she do? Wash his mouth with soap and threaten him? That would go over well with the Ministry of Magic. Very well indeed. So, she did the only thing she could: pretend to believe him. 

"That was very clumsy of you, Draco. Next time, ask for help."

"I will, Madam. I will."

"Well, you may leave now if you like. Just be sure to apply cream to your hands every night until the itching or any effects from the burns begin to die down."

Placing his hands carefully down on the bed, Draco began to lift himself up while ignoring the slight pangs that came from his palms. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and was about to get up and leave when Madam Pompfrey called him from where she was standing in front of him.

"Draco," she replied while gazing at him behind her glasses that helped her strained sixty-year-old eyes, "if you have anything bothering you, I'm … I'm always here to help."

Draco looked up into her eyes and noted the sympathy for him that laid in them. Although Madam Pompfrey could be quite irritating at times, such as when the Slytherins and Gryffindors got into fights and came bleeding into the hospital ward, she really did care about the welfare of the students, especially Draco who she decided long ago was not as bad as people thought he was. He was actually kind deep down but just tried to mask it over with his lies, sneers, and disdainful comments. 

Draco did not reply but instead raised himself form the bed and exited the infirmary leaving the nurse to shake her head in sympathy for what he had to endure in school, at home, and in himself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ginny, still in her room, kept running her plan through her head. It would work - hell yes it will work. Cleaning her room up afterwards might pose a problem though. Strewn around her quarters were all of the clothes in her closet. Although the rest of the Weasleys could not afford a lot of clothes, Ginny was able to stretch a few sickles a mile long by shopping in second hand and vintage stores, which had extremely beautiful clothes from past eras. Bent over in her closet and throwing outfits over her shoulder to find "the one," Ginny finally came by what she was looking for: a navy knee length, wispy skirt that flared out at the bottom, a white and navy off the shoulder peasant top, and a pair of heels from the forties. Ginny quickly put her hair half up, allowing a few strands to frame her face. Then, grabbing her pale concealer, pink lip-gloss, and rose blush, she began to apply her makeup. When she was done and standing in front of her mirror, Ginny had a casual and timeless look at the same time. She looked both graceful and "teenage," and if no guy noticed her looking like this, then he must be blind. Plan Draco was going into action. 

Actually, the reason why Ginny was doing this was not to impress the snob; it was to make him pay for taking away one of the moments that she was supposed to treasure - her first kiss. Instead of having Prince Charming, she got the nasty toad that did not change into a handsome royal. So, by dressing like this, she was going to parade herself in the Great Hall in front of all the guys and piss Draco off when all of them stared. Oh yes, she was going to get her prince this way - no Draco. He'll just be one of them staring, knowing that she was most definitely not going to pick him. 

_And knowing Draco, _Ginny thought, _not getting any girl, let alone me, will bug the shit out of him. This … this is going to be fun._

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lunch, which began at 1:00, was still being served at 1:30 when Draco entered the Great Hall. To his right sat those stupid Gryffindors; he saw Seamus, Dean, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and … no, wait he didn't see her. Ginny was not there. 

Draco did not know exactly why, but he felt his stomach drop when he saw the redhead's seat empty. 

Or maybe it was just because Ron was staring at him with angry, squinted eyes. Normally, Draco was not afraid of anyone, but for Ron he made an exception. Of Ron's foolish personality, he was not apprehensive of. It was the fact that Ron had huge muscles and was about 6'10, like one of those American basketball players that looked like mutated beanstalks. 

"What are you looking at Malfoy?"

However, Draco was not supposed to show fear for anyone taller or more muscular than he, especially if that person was a poor Weasley. So, as usual, Draco slapped on an emotionless face and a sneer and ignited his arrogant personality. 

"A pug-nosed, shit-faced, poor piece of…"

Unluckily for Draco, he forgot that all Weasley tempers were alike: feisty and bad as Hell. Currently, the sexy Slytherin had a black eye on the right side of his face to match the slap he received earlier from Ginny on the left. He was very symmetrical now. 

Everybody was looking at the fight that was about to ensue in the middle of the room. Ron moved from his chair to jump right on top of Draco and land a blow to his stomach. Hermione and Harry both turned around quickly and jumped on top of Ron to pull him off. Therefore, not only did Draco have a 250 pound redhead on him but also his two best friends. Draco was a nice pancake to say the least. 

Harry and Hermione grabbed Ron across the chest and struggled trying to pull him off Draco. Ron was, of course, resisting them, and he had one hand on Draco's collar while the other was raised in the air to punch him again.

And it was at that time that Ginny decided to walk into the Great Hall. 

(A/N: Hehehe, I could end this right here if I wanted to, but seeing as I will be gone for a week and a half and won't be able to update, I guess I'll be nice and continue. Hehe)

She threw the doors open and was about to begin her plan when she saw the sight before her: an enraged brother, two struggling friends, and a bleeding Draco. Without knowing what she was doing, Ginny ran to Draco's side and amazingly threw both her brother and his two best friends off of him to the surprise of the whole school and, of course, the trio. How could a little girl push three people away when two, Harry and Hermione, were just trying to do so to one? Strange … very strange.

Maybe it was instinct or maybe it was because of Draco bleeding from the side of his face and his lips or maybe it was because Draco was at a disadvantage, but the point is, Ginny was at Draco's side. The rage in Ron was replaced by inquisitiveness and a feeling of "huh?". Both of his hands fell to his sides in wonder as he noticed how his little sister forcefully threw him off Draco.

Ginny, on the other hand, was too busy wiping the blood from Draco's face and lips. She really did not know what she was doing. All thoughts escaped her mind as she stroked her fingers over the bruised areas on his visage. Moving her hands down his body, she saw his scarred hands, picked those up, and kissed his knuckles. Draco just kept staring at her face in wonder. He had no idea why this girl who he had made fun of over the course of six years was caring for him. The only reason he could conjure for her anxiety was because she felt badly that her huge brother was beating someone smaller than he.

Ginny kept moving her fingers over Draco's face. She touched his forehead, his cheeks, his nose, and his lips, but never looked directly into his eyes. Her mind, again, was utterly blank, and it was as if some intangible force was controlling her and compelling her to touch him. It was also like déjà vu, for almost six years ago, she was doing the same exact thing to a certain falcon.

Yet, when Ginny moved to touch his eyes, she glanced into his and all of her senses and her mind came back to her. The wheels in her brain began to move again, and she finally noticed that she was touching Draco Malfoy, the one and only. Ginny immediately jumped up from her crouched position next to Draco and moved her hand to her mouth as a gasp entered it. 

_What? What the fuck am I doing?!_

Ginny looked around the Great Hall to see that everyone, including Draco, was staring at her with wide eyes. Like Draco, they were all surprised to see a Weasley caring for a Malfoy. Well, at least part one of the plan was accomplished: everyone was staring at her. However, it was not in the way that she wanted, and out of utter embarrassment from her actions towards Draco, Ginny spun on her heels and ran out of the Great Hall with her hand still on her mouth in surprise and confusion. 

At that moment, Draco's mind was definitely turning on its axis. Without Ginny knowing it, the second part of her plan was accomplished, for the moment that she ran through those doors, Draco was captivated by her beauty with her red, waist length hair flowing everywhere and her stunning blue eyes. And, in that outfit, she looked like a model, a goddess, a microcosm of all the beauty in the world. Then, he was even more taken away when she came running to _him _of all people - not her brother, not Harry … _him_ - and started to touch his face. Her fingers were soft, delicate, beautiful, too. Everything about her was beautiful, but he knew that she would never want him. No matter what she says, he knew that a part of her would always still love Harry. 

Draco was still planted on the ground, and took advantage of the fact that everyone, including Ron, was still staring at the doors in which Ginny left through to get up and exit through the back door that students used in case the Great Hall doors were crowded. 

Draco's mind, however, was still on Ginny. Her worried face still loomed before his eyes.

_She was worried for me, _Draco thought. _Why would she be worried for me - Draco Malfoy, the person who hurt her for such a long time? I don't get it. I don't get it at all. _

Draco closed the door to the back entry to the Great Hall and began to walk down the dark hallway to the Main Hall. On his way, he found a window with a cushioned seat that was reflecting the dim light from outside. Sitting down on the seat, Draco leaned his head against the cold glass window and looked out towards the dark forest under the equally darkened sky. Snow was coming again although the grounds were already covered in it. Sighing, Draco saw Ginny's face dance in front of his eyes again, and it bothered him that his mind could be so preoccupied with a stupid Gryffindor. Sure, he loved to be preoccupied with girls, but it normally wasn't his mind or heart that was. 

_This is stupid, _Draco presumed. _Thinking about a Weasley is not something important for me to be doing at the moment. I should be planning on becoming a deatheater, instead. And, besides, she doesn't even like me. And… and … I don't …. _

Ginny's worried face loomed before him again and as every second passed, Draco found it harder to tell himself that he did not have any feelings for Ginny. Every time he tried telling himself that he did not like her, something twisted in his stomach. Looking down at his hands again and then outside, Draco sighed and shook his head.

_This cannot be happening. _

Five minutes later, Draco found himself face down on his pillow in his private bedroom drifting off into a slight slumber, for he kept having dreams about Ginny. Only one stood out in his mind when he woke up later that night.

-DREAM-

_Draco found himself hovering above his dream self _(A/N: I know this sounds confusing, but Draco is above his dream self looking down at it)._ He was in the middle of a circle of deatheaters and Ginny, fully awake with her legs and arms bound, was lying in the center of the circle next to him. The circle made an opening at the side opposite the dream Draco, letting Lord Voldemort enter in his black cloaks that billowed out from all sides. The Lord was the same height as Draco, but his power and respect made him tower over Draco. He looked directly into the dream Draco's eyes and muttered quietly, "Kill her." The dream Draco, with strangely blank eyes, looked down towards Ginny as a red light was emitted from his wand. The last thing Draco heard before he woke up was the dream Ginny's piercing scream._

-DREAM-

__

Draco jumped up to a sitting position on his bed and was gasping loudly. His eyes darted around the room thinking that someone was standing in a corner watching him. Several times, he mistook the shadow of a branch as some kind of demon. 

_What kind of dream was that? It … it felt real._

Just like the dream Draco, when Draco awoke he felt slightly blank and empty. After a few more breaths, his senses came back to him. Shaking his head slightly, Draco followed the light that was coming in through his window to the waning moon outside. He still would not be able to sleep this night because one, the moon was still quite full and two, that horrid dream kept running through his mind like a broken record. 

Draco moved the green, silk covers off him and wrapped his slightly muscular arms around himself. As much as he did not want to admit it, that dream frightened him a little. Draco walked over to the large gothic window in his room that had two doors towards the bottom of it that opened to a small balcony. All of the private rooms, prefects rooms, and head boy and girl rooms had balconies in them. It was kudos for either the money a student paid for one or the great grades that he or she received in school. 

Draco opened the doors and stepped out onto his balcony letting the cold winter air crawl on his skin. At first, Draco ignored the cold, but as the wind increased in fervor, he grabbed his wand out of his pajama pants and muttered a warming spell over his body. Immediately, he felt like he was standing in front of a cozy fire. 

Draco knew that he would not receive sleep that night, and before he flew off to "his" spot next to the frozen lake, he noticed that his clock was blinking 11:00 p.m. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After she ran out of the Great Hall, Ginny went straight to her room, crawled under the covers on her bed, and cried into her pillow. 

Nothing ever went the way that she wanted it to. Nothing. Ever. Everything kept screwing up in one way or another. Her plan did not work (that much was obvious). People were staring at her in surprise for her strength, not in awe for her outfit, her body, or her looks. 

Ginny always felt let down.

She had no idea of what came over her to start touching Draco like that. All she remembered thinking about after she walked through those doors and saw him bleeding was how hurt and angry he looked. She could remember nothing else except feeling worried and scared. She saw her brother about to punch him again and Harry and Hermione struggling to pull Ron away and felt fear hit the pit of her stomach. Ron was going to hurt Draco again, and she couldn't let that happen. 

Something happened to her at the moment where she yanked Ron and his two best friends off Draco. She felt powerful, and no one seemed to notice that at that instant, her eyes started to become darker but changed to normal when her fingers were caressing Draco's face. 

Ginny still could not believe what she did. It was not her. She hated Draco with a passion, but there she was touching his face and wiping away his blood. Ever since that night at the tower, everything turned so strange.

And with that, Ginny cried herself to sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ginny's slumber was not quite peaceful in fact. Actually, the whole scenario in the Great Hall kept playing in her subconscious, and every time it restarted, Ginny would wake up a bit more until finally she was wide awake. Rubbing her eyes, she looked over at her clock that blinked 11:12 p.m. and pulled herself gently out of her bed. Ginny, however, did not get far, because she was still tired from receiving no rest; therefore, the farthest she moved was one of the four bed posts that faced the window next to her balcony. Leaning against the pillar, she looked up at the dark sky to see that no stars were showing, and after tiring of that scene, she made a quick glance at the ground around the forest and lake. Scanning the white grounds around the school, Ginny noticed a figure in black pajama pants that stood in stark contrast to the white. She squinted her eyes to receive a better look but found that didn't help, so she muttered a warming incantation, opened the doors to her balcony, and stood outside peering at the figure next to the frozen lake.

It was Draco. 

To Ginny up on her balcony, Draco looked peaceful and different from the obnoxious boy that she always knew. In the snow, he looked sweet and innocent although he was actually far from that. His hair kept blowing in all directions and Ginny found it hard to admit to herself that he looked sexy and handsome like that in the moonlight. 

Shaking her head and putting her hair into a pony tail as to not let strands of it blow into her face, Ginny was about to walk back inside when the figure on the ground absentmindedly turned his head in her direction on accident. What he saw was a redheaded girl staring right back at him. Ginny did not move, and thinking that this was a welcoming gesture, Draco flew gracefully to Ginny on her balcony. 

"Hello, Ginny."

Ginny, however, was stunned at how he flew and just continued to stare at Draco in awe. The fact that Draco was a result of a freak accident and that he could fly finally hit her. He _was_ different. He wasn't exactly the perfect little rich snob that she originally thought he was. He must have his share of problems, like her. He must have felt sadness and regret, for he was human.

"You know," Draco awkwardly said, for the way she was staring at him was making him feel … well… bothered, "the way that you're looking at me does make me think obscene things."

His voice broke the silence between them and made Ginny aware that she had been staring at him for quite a while. 

"You're gross. You know that, right?"

"I am a guy."

"No, really? I thought you weren't."

"I have proof."

"I was being sarcastic you nitwit."

"I know. I just wanted to be irreverent."

"So," Ginny replied after a few minutes of silence, "do you always sit over there by the lake?"

"Sometimes. It's normally just when I feel like it."

They both turned to look at each other under the faint light from the moon. 

"I like the lake. It gives off this feeling of mystery, of" he paused, looking for a suitable way to describe what he felt, "innocence." Draco moved closer to Ginny, who was finding it hard to stand on her legs as every second passed. Draco's scent, his presence and his aura were intoxicating her. She was going to fall into the snow on her balcony if she didn't find something to hold on to. 

Draco glanced down at her feet and noticed that they were wobbling. Knowing that her shaking legs would cause her to fall, Draco grabbed her around the waist just as her feet slipped out from under her body.

"Um… thanks," Ginny said taking her gaze away from his eyes to stare at the lake.

"Yea… you're welcome," Draco quietly replied while glancing up at the clouds, which began to swirl around each other and turn darker, signaling another imminent snowfall. He looked at the grounds and at the forest dark in the night and awaiting another blizzard to cover its ominous presence with white. The school was covered in an old sheet of snow that delicately coated every tower, courtyard, and inch of the castle. It was the perfect picture of beauty. 

"Just like the girl standing in front of me," Draco absentmindedly thought aloud. 

Ginny turned her head to look at him and whispered, "Excuse me?"

"Nevermind. It's not important."

"Right."

Ginny again peeled her eyes away from Draco's and moved them down his arm to notice that it was still wrapped around her waist while hers were around his neck.

"Well, um, this is awkward. You, Draco Malfoy, standing in front of me on my balcony, not to mention holding me, and me … not … moving … away, " Ginny said slowly as her head moved a little more towards Draco's.

"Yea," he replied as his head moved with hers. "It is."

However, as soon as their heads started moving towards each other, a sound of music rang through the cold, pristine air. They both looked for where it came from and their eyes landed on a light up in a room in the Ravenclaw Tower belonging to none other than the American transfer student, Kristine. She was blaring American music at almost midnight with her window open, and, of course, it just had to be "A Moment Like This" by Kelly Clarkson. 

Draco and Ginny turned back to look at each other while wrapped in each other's arms as the music continued to blare across the grounds.

_A moment like this_

Some people wait a lifetime

For a moment like this

Some people search forever

For that one special kiss …

Finally, the sky erupted into another shower of snow covering the grounds again and raining its delicate figured designs into the two teenagers' hair. Draco looked into Ginny's eyes while stroking her wet hair from the melted snow. He slowly moved his head next to her ear. 

"You know," he whispered enticingly, "this is turning quite cliché."

Ginny cupped the side of his face and moved it away from her ear so that his nose was only an inch away from hers. His breath delicately showered her face and lips making her even more motivated to do something that she never in a million years would have thought that she would do, especially with Draco Malfoy. Maybe it was the romantic atmosphere or maybe it was the romantic music or it could have been something deeper than that. Something deep in both of them that moved their hearts and bodies towards each other. Ginny couldn't handle it anymore. That wobbly feeling in her legs came back and her eyes were dropping like they were drugged, which in fact they were. Draco was entering all of her senses. She was breathing in his breaths, smelling his cologne, and touching him. She couldn't handle it anymore.

"Well," she replied huskily, "I like cliché."

The remaining space between them was closed as their lips locked in a sweet embrace. The kiss was gentle, delicate, and luscious at the same time. Ginny felt like she was on top of the world. Her senses heightened tenfold as her arms locked tighter around Draco's neck and played with the hair on the nape of his neck. Draco's other arm moved to wrap around her upper back while his other tightened around her waist. 

The two broke slowly away for breath as they looked into each other's eyes. Ginny was waiting for this moment for what seem like forever. Those years of waiting for Harry to notice her erased from her memory to be replaced with this moment with Draco. Why did she spend so many years after some guy who never noticed her when she had this person in front of her the whole time? Although it was because of ridiculous rivalry between their families, she forgot about all of that and decided that now, she was going to live for the moment. And, right now, that moment was with Draco. Her arms moved down his as she tilted her head to kiss him again - to taste what could only be described as Draco.

He welcomed her warm lips, and although both of them already had warming incantations on them, they felt like they were on fire. The heat kept increasing as Draco's tongue swept across Ginny's lips for entrance, which she allowed. Their bodies pushed against each other more as Draco's arms moved down her back and Ginny's moved up his chest to wrap around his neck again. 

It was the perfect moment. There, two people stood so intertwined with each other beneath the falling snow, the glittering grounds, and the soft music playing in the background; it was that romantic moment that Ginny had so long waited for. It was like out of story tale where two people meet under the dark night sky and share a time in which only the two of them could have.

Ginny never wanted this moment to end. She wanted it to continue forever, for she finally had someone in front of her that found her among the crowd although his name was Draco Malfoy, her supposed enemy.

Yet, Draco's mind started up again. What was he doing? Why in the world was he in front of a Weasley snogging her senseless? 

__

No, thought Draco, _this isn't right. What the Hell has come over me? Why the fuck am I standing on Weasley's balcony? She's a Weasley, and I'm a Malfoy. This is kind of illegal.. Besides, I have more important things to do. I can't let myself get near her now. It might stop me from my goal, my respect. Snogging a poor, timid Weasley will definitely not help me later on. No person - let alone a Weasley - will ever get in my way. And, as much as I don't want to admit it, if I don't quit while I'm ahead, I probably won't ever be able to leave her. This isn't right._

Draco began to pull away. 

When Ginny felt his lips move away from hers, she brought up her eyes in worry. 

__

What's wrong?

"No," Draco whispered from his lips that were but a mere centimeter away from hers. "No, Ginny." He knew he had to go. He couldn't stay here, for that look in her eyes (that sad, longing stare) would make him stay if he kept gazing into it. "Sorry. I have to go." Looking away from the melancholy redhead, Draco shoved his hands into the pockets of his black, silk pajama pants and flew off into the night sky leaving Ginny to stare at him as he ascended. 

For those two minutes while Draco was kissing her, she felt on top of the world - she felt like nothing could harm her, like nothing could come and ruin that moment. But, something did - Draco's conscience. 

Ginny felt cold after he left - freezing cold. Her body no longer had warmth neither from the spell nor from Draco. But, her mind didn't register this, for it was too empty. In a way, Draco took away all that she had hoped for, all that she had wished for when he left because he gave it to her. Draco gave her hope for romance with that kiss or two, but now that he was gone, Ginny felt nothing.

Like a body without any soul that can be controlled by strings, Ginny slowly trudged back into her room, did not close the balcony doors, and descended onto her bed. She never put the covers on top of her. She slept in the cold. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: There you all go! Another chapter that I am very proud of. Don't worry, I'll have Draco's comments in the next chapter. I'm just quite tired right now and thought that leaving it off there would be fine. I hope you all have a wonderful winter break and Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate it. I hope you like this chapter, and please review. Thank you so very much to all of those who already have! ^_^

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A/N 2: Well I kept the snogging for all of those, teehee including me, that LOVE snogging scenes. BTW, if you guys want to help me with ideas of what should happen later on, I'd be verrrryyy thankful. You'll get cookies!!!!!! WEEEEE!!!!!! Oh, and before I forget, please don't flame … thankies! 


	7. Angry Purple

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Author's Note: I've had terrible writer's block lately, and it's driving me fricken nuts. I think that I've finally gotten over this hump. Phew. Again, I'm really sorry about last chapter, but because I changed the ending, the rest of my story is now going to be more interesting. So, it works out for the best for both of us. Sorry again! And, now, here's my new chapter. I hope you all like it! It's a little shorter because it's kind of a transition chapter. Also! If you read chapter 6 before winter break, please reread it!!!!!!!!! I have changed the ending!!!!! If you would like to know why, read the author's note. Thanx!!!!

**Hello there again: I'm adding a cute lil pic for all of you who like to see pictures with stories. So here's the link: http://www.side7.com/cgi-bin/S7SDB/DisplayImg.pl?INO=243596

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Disclaimer: I own the cuffs that I use to chain Draco up. 

Chapter Seven: Angry Purple

*~ _Crawling in my skin  
These wounds, they will not heal  
Fear is how I fall  
Confusing what is real  
  
There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface  
Consuming, confusing  
This lack of self control I fear is never ending  
Controlling  
  
I can't seem  
To find myself again  
My walls are closing in  
(Without a sense of confidence I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take)  
I've felt this way before  
So insecure_

Linkin Park, Crawling ~*

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The wind was hitting him hard that night as he flew through the darkened sky spotted with silver. His hair blew this way and that as his warming charm wore off, leaving his body victim to the freezing air. 

He should have known it was wrong - completely wrong. He was not supposed to talk to her, let alone kiss her. However, that look in her eyes when she was on the balcony just brought him to her. He could not stop himself, and now he regretted doing just that. 

He was lucky to pull away when he did. 

Draco glided to his room atop the Slytherin tower and entered through the window that he kept open to let the noxious fumes disperse from the fire that his father started earlier. 

That was another reason why he had to stop - his father. Draco knew that if his father ever found out that he had the slightest feelings towards Ginny, he would kill her without any second thoughts. *Snap* and she'd be dead, killed by that abominable curse. But, why would Draco even care? That still confused him. He thought that he had no feelings whatsoever towards the youngest Weasley, but tonight proved otherwise, for when he kissed her, he felt something like a tingling sensation running through his veins. He actually felt weak, and that's not a good thing. Weaknesses make you vulnerable, and Draco did not want to be vulnerable. He wanted to be respected. 

But that kiss he had with her was nothing like any other. Sure, he used girls from all around the school for his fun little game of seduction (just to prove that he was still the infamous sex god), yet Ginny made him feel different. When he was around her, something awakened in him … a word that he never thought he would use. Ew, it's even gross to think about it! He felt … he felt (take a deep breath) … happy. 

_No. _Draco thought as his left foot followed his right over the window's threshold. _Happiness also makes you weak, and I won't be. I can't be. _

Draco moved over to his bed, jumped onto it, and stared at the green silk canopy above him. He couldn't get involved with her now. It was his seventh year, and he would receive that damned mark soon. Although he would hate getting it, he wanted respect and becoming one of them would give him that. 

Ginny would interfere.

And an interference, especially one as beautiful, smart … "No," Draco murmured softly. He swore he felt a headache coming on as his hands moved across his closed eyes to massage his temples. He seemed to be having a hard time controlling his heart for the umpteenth time that day. Something was definitely wrong with him. 

__

St. Mungo's, here I come.

If he kept on thinking about that flaming red head, he wouldn't be able to quit. 

Something had to be done.

Something mischievous.

Something Draco.

He would hurt her even worse this time. That way, she would never, ever speak to him again, and his thoughts would not be committed to her. They should be committed to his goal, the one that nobody could stop him from achieving. 

But what could he do that would make her to never want to utter a word to him again? Insult her, trip her, make her life a living hell? 

__

That might work, Draco said as his steel gray eyes slowly opened and an evil little sneer came across his handsome face. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ginny did not want to move out of her bed that morning as the red sun crept over the horizon throwing blood-like colors over her body. She was tired, dead tired and wished that she could just stay with her head in the pillow all day. Nice, fluffy pillow. 

Then, that stupid alarm clock went off again, and not surprisingly enough, Ginny picked it up and chucked it through the open balcony doors and over the banister.

_Wait a tic … why are the doors open?_

That's when the previous night came rushing back to her - all of those feelings of happiness and bliss to be replaced by that sad emptiness that she felt when Draco detached himself from her. Ginny's mind went blank again as her feelings of malcontent and sadness overcame her. Sighing deeply, Ginny reached for the red knit blanket that her mom sewed at the end of the bed and threw it over herself. She didn't even notice that she wasn't under her velvet bedsheets. She almost forgot that she slept in the cold. Almost if not for a freezing cold gust of wind that came through her balcony door. Wrapping the blanket around herself, Ginny moved over to the doors to close them when she suddenly had a desire to see her nice little alarm clock broken in pieces. Ginny smiled wickedly as she moved over to the banister, hoping to see just that. 

Nothing was there.

There were no alarm clock pieces strewn all over the ground.

That's also when she felt something's or possibly someone's hot breath down her neck. Ginny felt her body freeze and did the one thing that she learned from having six brothers.

"KKKKKKKYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA," Ginny promptly screamed as she turned around, kneed, and punched whatever was behind her. 

The "thing" fell to the ground letting out a very talented set of curses that mommy would not be very proud of. 

Ginny's eyes roamed over it from the Kenneth Cauldron shoes, to the Wizace black pants, to the long-sleeved green shirt with, to her surprise, her alarm clock in its pale hand, to the eyes closed in pain, and then, finally, to the signature silver hair. 

Draco - the one person who she really didn't want to deal with right now. So, she stepped on him and then over him, letting him release another pained groan, as she walked to her balcony doors.

"Fucking bitch," he murmured through short gasps. "And here I was being the perfect gentlemen catching that alarm clock that you threw out the window." So far, his plan wasn't working, but that didn't mean that he'd stop it. He needed to insult her; he needed to make her feel even more like shit. Draco grabbed her pink pajama pant leg.

"Weasley, we need to talk … now."

"Fuck you." And using all of her strength, Ginny shook her leg loose as her eyes changed from blue to purple. This, Draco didn't miss again and knew what was coming since the last time he made her angry, her eyes did the same thing and she almost attacked him. He was right to be slightly frightened, for Ginny kicked him hard in the stomach. She looked down at him through angry purple eyes that changed to a deeper shade as every feeling of emptiness and sadness that she felt the night before washed through her again. 

"Fuck you, Draco Malfoy. Just, fuck you." Her voice was shaking badly as the tears threatened to fall again. She tried to get through her balcony doors before they fell, but too late. Draco saw one slide slowly down her cheek as she slammed the glass doors shut and closed the curtains, leaving his bruised and bleeding self in the cold. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ginny walked down to breakfast that morning in her pajamas and bunny slippers, deciding that she didn't really give a shit about uniforms or showers. It just seemed too trivial now for her. 

So it was no surprise that all of the student body, well except the snogging couples, turned and looked at her as she entered the great hall late and dressed in pink, a stark contrast from the black cloaks that the students wore. The teachers just kept chatting animatedly with each other, happy for the silence. Ginny walked slowly down the aisle towards the Gryffindor table as everyone's glance followed her, measuring her, wondering why she was late and dressed so informally with her night clothes and unwashed hair, which was sticking up on one side and tamed on the other. 

All in all, she looked like she just walked out of a fight with blast-ended skrewt. 

Ginny just stared back at those that she passed with evil eyes and flicked off someone who had the audacity to laugh at her. 

Yet, as she moved to the Gryffindor table, she found a sight that was all too familiar but made her blood boil today because of her already angered mentality. Let's just say that what she did next could be blamed on Draco.

Feeling her veins get even closer to popping with every kiss that they shared, Ginny walked swiftly over to Harry and Hermione, and as if expecting them to stop snogging at her presence, Ginny waited patiently in front of the couple who didn't quit going at each other. Ron, on the other hand, was flirting terribly with Lavender. 

However, Ginny's patience quickly turned into hostility as Harry began to move plates of food away from in front of him and Hermione so that he could move the top half of her body on the table, perhaps for … um … more leverage. Ginny's hands started to shake with fury, and she closed her eyes to try to restrain herself, but to no avail. She could not stop herself from what she did next. Her anger and resentment toward Hermione for taking the one person whom she truly loved last year and toward Harry for ignoring her and treating her like a little sister during her almost five years of loving him finally turned into rage. 

The whole school was still staring at her as Ginny let out her fury in a scream that resounded through the great hall and most of the school. Lifting her two strong arms, she grabbed their collars and pulled both of them apart, slapping them like there was no tomorrow. 

Ginny never noticed the pair of silver eyes that just walked in and watched the whole incident from the great hall doors in amusement. 

She also did not notice that the teachers watched it either. 

Her ears were ringing from her anger and her screaming as her eyes began to change to that eerie purple for the second time that day. And, even with all of her physical exertion that morning from beating the shit out of Draco, screaming her lungs out, and slapping two of the people she hated most in the world, Ginny was still filled with fury. She was angry at Draco for hurting her this much and making her release what she never thought she could, she was angry at Harry and Hermione for making her feel like shit, she was angry at Ron for treating her like a baby, she was angry at the whole school for being the shits that they were, and most of all she was angry at herself. She was angry at herself for being that little, innocent, sweet quiet Ginny that she always was. She hated herself for letting people push her around and thinking that they'd be her friends if she did their homework and acted all sweet and nice. Oh, no. Now, she learned. People were assholes, and if you can't beat them, join them. The new Ginny was not going to be all cute and perky. Hell, no. She was going to be a bitch, starting with slapping Harry again. 

But, before she could, she felt a hand resting on her shoulder and heard her best friend Branden's voice bringing her back from her angered psyche. 

"Ginny," he whispered softly, hoping that she would not attack him either. He never saw Ginny like this before, and honestly, it scared him. "Ginny, Dumbledore's calling you."

In fact, he was, for all of the teachers saw what happened to both their shock and amazement. They also never knew Ginny to be like this. Even in class, she was quiet. 

"Miss Weasley, please come up here." Dumbledore rose from his seat with his half moon glasses slowly sliding down the length of his long nose. 

Ginny knew she was in trouble, deep trouble. She knew that she buried herself in a hole that she would probably never get out of. How could she let herself do this? How could she let her self-restraint break and let her fury get the best of her? Ginny looked at her hands, the ones that did so much damage that morning, the ones that hurt Draco, Harry, and Hermione. This was not like her.

"Miss Weasley, come here, please."

Ginny rose questioning and frightened eyes up to Dumbledore's, hoping that he'd understand that what she did was out of her control. She couldn't stop it. She couldn't hold what she felt in any longer. Hesitantly, because she had never been in trouble before, Ginny walked up to the headmaster. When she approached the head table, she let her eyes linger to the floor to hear what she thought would be an angered lecture and a harsh punishment.

Dumbledore, sensing her anxiety, decided to whisper in her ear to prevent any more embarrassment. Kind, kind man.

"Miss Weasley," he said quietly in her ear with a voice that held wisdom beyond words, "I won't say anything to you here, but you must come to my office after breakfast. I cannot let this go unnoticed and unpunished."

He moved away from the frightened redhead and sat back into his seat at the table, shooing the girl away with a movement of his hand. 

Knowing that she was going to be punished severely, Ginny trudged back to the Gryffindor table and sat alone at the far end of it that was closest to the Great Hall doors. She wanted to get out of there as quickly as she could. 

"Students," Dumbledore announced. What? You thought that he wouldn't make an announcement? "What has just happened has hurt me dearly. It will not be ignored, and if I _ever_ see any of this happening again from any student, you will receive a worse punishment than Miss Weasley because you have decided to violate this warning. Now," he said going back to his weird, quirky personality, "let breakfast begin." And with two claps of his hands, food appeared on the tables, and the students dug in. 

Ginny didn't eat. She had no desire to, so she rested her head on the table and took deep breaths to calm herself down.

Nobody came to talk to her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Breakfast went by slowly for her, but eventually, students began piling out of the Great Hall to get to their classes for the day.

_Time to see Dumbledore, _she thought to herself. Ginny rose from her seat and walked to the head table where the headmaster waited for her. He promptly sprang up from his seat and led her to his private office. They walked in silence, neither saying a word to the other. Ginny was quiet because she was still trying to calm herself down, and Dumbledore decided not to say anything, sensing Ginny's frustration and apprehension.

They arrived at an eagle statue, to which Dumbledore muttered "Itsy, bitsy sugar-coated gummy worms." The statue moved aside, revealing a winding staircase that the two ascended to the office. 

Ginny's eyes opened in amazement as she walked in, taking in her surroundings. Hell, the place was bigger than the majority of her home. Covering the red and wood walls were pictures of headmasters that smiled at her as she walked by them towards the desk that Dumbledore sat behind. He moved a red, plushy chair in front of it with a wave of his hand. 

"Please, sit, Miss Weasley."

Ginny sat in the chair and closed her eyes awaiting her terrible punishment.

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore looked over at the deer head that was up on the wall across from him. "I know that I must punish you, Ginny. It's my duty as headmaster. I cannot let anything like what you did go unnoticed." Ginny just lowered her head more, feeling more anxiety as she waited. 

Dumbledore rose from his seat and moved over to the deer head. "There's a balance, Ginny."

_Huh? Why is he going off-topic? Isn't he supposed to be yelling at me?_

"And," he continued, "this balance must be kept in equilibrium at all costs. It cannot be broken, and it cannot stay unbalanced if something tips the scale, shall we say. Otherwise, the consequences would be horrendous." An uncomfortable silence filled the room as Dumbledore finished his sentence. The silence was haunting, scary, and strange for Ginny. He wasn't screaming at her. Why?

"Excuse me, sir," Ginny said when the silence started to really irritate her. Dumbledore turned his head to look at her. "Why are you mentioning this?"

"I saw your eyes, Ginny."

"My eyes? I don't understand."

"They turned purple when you were angry earlier and assailed Harry and Hermione. None of the other teachers saw this, but I did. I don't miss things like that."

"I … I never knew…." Ginny looked at the old man and into his eyes, which held wisdom and patience.

"Remember this, Miss Weasley," he continued. "You are special, one of a kind to be exact."

"W… why?" she said quietly. Special? How was she special? She didn't feel like it. As a matter of fact, she felt like people and the world could care less about her.

"You will learn later. It is for the future to tell you." Silence entered the room again.

"However," Dumbledore said, sitting himself back in his swiveling armchair, which he turned around and around just for fun before he stopped it to face Ginny, "it would be unfair to the whole student body if you are not penalized."

Ginny lowered her eyes to the floor again. She knew what was coming … well, no she didn't, but she knew it wasn't good. "I understand," she muttered.

"You will not have Hogsmeade privileges for a month, and you will have detention for three weeks every night at eight 'o clock sharp with a prefect that I have previously chosen and have spoken with and will be arriving here shortly." As if on cue, there was a rapping on the office's closed door.

"Ah, he's here."

_He? _Ginny thought. _So, it's a guy. Let's see … what prefect males do I know? John Tinkman, Brett Siler, Trent …. _However, Ginny's thought train stopped as Dumbledore told whoever was at the door to come in.

Ginny swore and thought that she'd rather die than spend three weeks with _him. _

"Now, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said. "I hope that you two can get along for these three weeks."

"I'm looking forward to it," the prefect replied in his deep, smooth voice.

"Well, I'm not," Ginny retorted as her eye's bore into the silver ones of Draco Malfoy, which were still slightly bruised. 

"Now, I believe that it is time for your classes, the both of you. Mr. Malfoy, Miss Weasley, you may leave now, and Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes, sir?"

"I suggest that you see Madame Pompfrey about that limp and those bruises."

"I will, sir."

Ginny and Draco said nothing to each other as they walked out of the headmaster's office and descended the stone stairs to the outdoor hallway. Guess who broke the silence … yup, our favorite guy, Draco.

"So, Weasley," he said, "I guess we're back on a last name basis."

"Don't speak to me, Malfoy," Ginny replied, quickening her pace to get away from him. _Fucking asshole._

"Ah, but you see, Ginny, that might be a problem seeing as I'm going to have to spend my next three weeks with _you_ and _I _have the detention schedule."

"UUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

"I know, and do you think that I, Draco Malfoy: sexiest man on earth, want to spend every night with _you_? You've got to be kidding me if you think so. I'm just doing this for brownie points."

"Shut up, Malfoy." Not wanting to speak with him anymore, Ginny ran down the hall.

"Hey, Weasley! Detention's in the second floor main hallway! Tonight! Don't forget!" he yelled as she sprinted away.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Ginny screamed as she ran in the opposite direction. _Must … get … away. _

Draco just kept on smirking where he was standing. Tonight would be _very _interesting. Tonight, he could finally put his evil little plan that involved the feisty redhead into action. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

If you love Draco, raise your hand! ::raises hand:: I'm creating Draco clones. If you want one, it's a dollar per dozen!

****

Author's Note: I know that this chapter really doesn't have d/g action, but it sets things up for it. Yea! So, I promise you all, d/g action soon. And, of course, Review! Review! Review! Toodles!


	8. Review Responses Because I'm Just Cool L...

Author's Note: Hello all of you people out there who like my story! I've decided that its time for some kudos for all of you (and I have no homework tonight ... hallelujah, lol). I added a pic link for the last chapter. It's a Ginny that a drew, and strangely, she's happy. It's from that scene on the balcony last chapter before Draco went back to Sir Tosser and decided to be a major ass again.   
  
Tuilindo: Hi there! Yes, actually, I have read your story. I thought it was really great and that Ginny's emotions and feelings were down pact. You're a great writer so keep up the wonderful work!  
  
Mystical Stormz: I've read yours too! Wow, I read a lot of fanfiction ... I think I need help. Lots of help. Eep. I thought that your plot was really great and planned out ... unlike mine ... pfftttt, sadly, mine's just coming as I go. That's a bad thing, right? Lol  
  
GoldenRed Phoenixia: I LOVE INUYASHAAAAA!!!!! Grrrr, but I'm slightly pissed off because stupid cartoon network had to move it to weekdays at 12:30 am ... honestly! Who the hell purposely stays up that late other than to do homework? I like to sleep dammit. Feh (oooo I said feh, hehe) I mean, come on ... it's not like I'm 10 or anything. I want it on weekends again! Although, hehe it's sad to say, I set my alarm clock for 12:25 to watch it. Hehe ::hides face in a paper bag:: Also, Athena is the goddess of wisdom, but when I read The Iliad, she was also mentioned as the goddess of war and strength. ^_^  
  
Chrismery: Sort of like that ... only he has claws and a more bad-ass attitude cause he's sexy and evil ... ::drrroooollllll::  
  
Brown-coffee-eyes: I don't think your computer appreciates that. What has it done to you? Ok, so maybe it holds the files to all of those damn essays that you have to do for english ... ok now that I think about it, my comp is going down! KKKYYYYYAAAAAAAAA!  
  
Aurora-Noctifer: No, I wasn't nasty not telling you all for a while ... I was a bitch ... lololol  
  
Mi: calm down ... down girl ... down. I'll let you have a clone Draco ... not as spiffy as the original, but it still has its quirks and fixings.   
  
X Indigo Echo x: Yea, I know ... but I fixed it though! Weeeee! Now, it's just more angst! Yes!!!!! I LOVE ANGST!  
  
Evil Slytherin Child: I think guys should have muzzles on their mouths ... that way, they can't say anything and scream when we glomp 'em ... hehehehehehehe  
  
Draco's Forever more: He's more mine than yours ... hehehe ... uh, well, no not really. He's neither one of ours. ::sobs:: whhhyyyyy???????? ::sobs::  
  
Cherries: Maybe you should put the monkey's on monkey leashes and sick them on people when you have nothing better to do .... Eh .... It's just an idea  
  
Robbie Doobie Doo Dah: Not any more!!! Mwahahahahahaha!!!  
  
Yemily: errrr ... about that Branden thing .... Well, I thought it was funny and besides, all of my guy friends are like that ... kind of egotistical yet cute at the same time. Damn plot bunnies ... I think I might have to round them up and seek them on little kids ... hehehehehe. Oh! And of course I'm going to have Ron's and Harry's reactions later ... probably the next chappie  
  
Some dude and No1Special: Ugh, I know! LoL! I mean, come on, there are Jewish people in Britain ... in fact, there's a large community somewhere near London. BTW, did you guys know that the guy who plays Lucius is Jewish? Dude, how cool is that?! Hell, yea!  
  
Milkey Way: That's how I've always imagined Lucius ... cold-hearted bastard ... let's see what he thinks if someone holds a gun to his head ... asshole ... er, sorry about that  
  
MistressSilverWings: Yup, I stopped the author's notes in the middle of the story ... except for sudden urges. That, I can't help ... kind of like eating a snicker's ice cream bar at midnight .... If you read chapter 7, you'll see that revenge ... mwahahahahaha!!!! Ginny goes beserko!  
  
(second review): you really think so? Thankiessss!!!!!!!! ::blushes:: Also, I couldn't find your story ... but if you give me a link, I'll read it ... ^_^  
  
Darkangel369: Not really neighbors because the forest is extremely long and branches out from the Forbidden Forest. Also, Draco and his dad portkeyed to the middle of the forest, far away from their home. Oh, and thank you! I'm so glad that you think my story is that good! Thankiesssss!!!!!!!!  
  
Jasmine: Who can't like Draco? He's such an arrogant yet sexy, smart, witty .... ::drool:: uuuuurrrrrrrrrrrr ::droooooooolllll::  
  
(second review): he seems to be getting beaten up a bit by the Weasleys recently, hasn't he? Hehehehehe. I actually felt really bad for Draco when I was writing that part ... I actually had my friend come over and tell me if she thought it was too cruel, but that's Lucius for you  
  
Lyss: Here's the link!: http://www.users.bigpond.com/wild.goose/celtic_symbols.html  
  
Ozzieclaire: There'll probably be a snogging scene in the next chappie or the one after that ... so hold your raging snog-wanting self down for a bit, k? lol  
  
Miss. Charlet: I'm not saying a word ... lol. And thank you for your lovely comment! I never thought that my story was that good ...   
  
Legano - san: pffftttt ... I wish I could fly ... hmmmm, maybe Draco can take me for a spin ...  
  
Potter's girl: No, he doesn't sense changes ... he just gets cold like the rest of us ...   
  
Tara_Potter_Malfoy: awwwwww ... I wuv that bunny!!!!!!!! I want it!!!!!!!! Well ... the next chappie's up, so I guess there's your demand for more (btw, how long did it take you to write all of those?)  
  
Weasley Pride: Wow ... um ... it's hard to believe that I'm good at snogging scenes, seeing as I'm 17 and haven't kissed a guy before ... man that's sad ... I think I'll just hire someone ...   
  
Three Libras: I just used that part of the song because it shows a lot of anger and that's what Ginny felt. But, truthfully, I think it's better for Tom Riddle IMO  
  
Angel-Hiragizawa32: awwwww, thank you! And, no I'm not continuing ... feh, yeah right... of course I am! lol 


	9. Truth

A/N: Fine ... yell at me. Whatever ... I don't care. Yes, I know its been maybe three months since an update but I've had AP exams, two of which I have to make up this week. But don't worry, after that, there will definitely be more. Until that time, you can also read my other story called Fade Away (click on my name for the link) about Ginny falling for a guy named Seth ... whose actually Draco in disguise. Definitely will not be cliché.   
  
PS: You probably will not like the portrayal of Harry and Hermione in this chapter ... sorry but it adds more to the story  
  
Chapter 8: Truth  
  
I hate him.  
  
I hate him, I hate him, I hate him.   
  
Honestly, why does he have to be such an ass? Ginny thought as she continued sprinting down the hall away from Draco although she was pretty far from him as it was.   
  
Draco had been an ass to her; there was no doubt about that. But what Ginny could not help wondering was why he all of sudden had such a change of heart. How could he kiss her and then just turn cold again and act like he always did to her? Wasn't he supposed to fall madly in love with her now, just like those couples in the muggle books at the back of the library? But then it hit Ginny.   
  
They were just books - just pieces of fiction, and one cannot create a life around them and believe everything they say.  
  
So then, was love just a waste of time like all those years she wasted on Harry only to have him go to Hermione?  
  
Harry ...   
  
Ginny let out an exasperated sigh. Harry. She forgot about Harry, Hermione, and that nice little set of slaps that got her into no Hogsmeade trips and three very long weeks of detention with her mortal enemy. She also forgot that the whole school saw her burst of anger and groaned when she remembered that she had to go back to the tower to sleep where she would no doubt encounter all of them and their stares and their blatant yelling and their never-ending degrading comments about her for doing that to the most admired couple in the school. So, in other words, she was public enemy number one and there was no doubt in her mind that the whole house was going to try and make her repent ... especially Ron.  
  
But then Ginny thought about it ... didn't she hit them for a reason? Didn't she have a true motive behind her actions? Yes, yes she did. Harry had hurt her like no one else could. He made her love him, obsess over him for six long years without any feelings in return. And, then, all of those romantic feelings turned to the opposite when, over the summer, she saw Harry and Hermione in the garden behind the Burrow snogging like there was nothing else to do but snog ... and snog ... and snog. Every second that passed that Ginny saw them together morphed a portion of her feelings for Harry into hatred and rage. How could he do that to her? Didn't he know that she wanted him all those years? The longer Ginny looked at them, the more she realized that he did not. Harry did not in any way whatsoever know that, or possibly cared that, she loved him.  
  
And that royally pissed her off. She wasted six years on him. Wasted them on nothing for Harry never returned her feelings, her gestures, her thoughts in return. Never.   
  
So, Ginny acrimoniously thought as she neared the Fat Lady's portrait, he and his bitch deserved it. Deserved it well and good, and no one is going to make me apologize ...   
  
... And if they try to, they won't know what's coming at them.   
  
And as Ginny muttered the password and opened the door to the tower, she smirked knowing that if anyone had the nerve to approach her and make her repent, that person would get a taste of a side of Ginny that no one, not even her brothers, knew.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
When Ginny walked into the common room, she was not surprised to hear hushed whispers from almost every person there ... and the people saying them weren't that quiet either as she walked past them and towards the staircase leading up to her prefect's room.   
  
- "Is that her?"-  
  
- "You're kidding me right? She hit Harry and Hermione?! Is she insane?" -  
  
- "I can't believe they let people like her into Hogwarts. What's wrong with that old cahoot? Doesn't he see what a menace she is?" -  
  
- "I told you, Jess ... it's always the quiet ones!" -  
  
- "Why isn't she stopping? Shouldn't she say something? What a bitch!" -  
  
Ginny just ignored this comment like the rest of them and started to ascend the staircase towards the Gryffindor Prefect's Tower ... that is until a strong, pale hand grabbed her forearm and turned her to face one of the people that she did not want to see: Ron.   
  
And, oh boy, was he seething.   
  
"Let go, Ron," Ginny managed to say through clenched teeth.  
  
"What," Ron quickly replied as his eyes flashed showing the anger and frustration behind them, "is wrong with you? What kind of idiotic notion came over you to do that? Do you have ANY idea how STUPID THAT WAS?! Don't you have any respect, whatsoever? You hit Harry and Hermione! Not only did you hit them, but you did it in front of everybody!"  
  
"Is that all you care about? Is MAKING SURE THAT YOU'RE SISTER DOESN'T EMBARESS YOU IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT SHE FEELS? I did what I did for a reason! I had a reason to do it! I HAD A FUCKING REASON TO GIVE THEM WHAT THEY DESERVED!"  
  
"Give them what they deserved? What are you talking about! You think they deserved to have my mad -  
  
- "excuse me?" -  
  
- sister attack them like that? They never did anything to you!"  
  
"Are you insane? Have you missed what everybody else has figured out after six years? I LOVED HIM! I loved Harry, got it? And then I had to find out that he was snogging and who knows maybe shagging that ugly whore?!"  
  
"First off, Hermione is the most brilliant person I've ever met and she is most definitely not a whore! And second off, that still doesn't give you the right to hit anybody!"  
  
"And what are you," Ginny replied and spat on her brother's second-hand shoes, "my conscience?! I have my own voice, brother dearest, I was just hoping that for ONCE you'd LISTEN TO IT and NOT PUT YOUR FRIENDS ABOVE ME! I'm your sister!"   
  
"You know what, Gin? I'm not going to deal with this. You said you have a voice? Well, then, you know what that great voice of yours should do? " Ron angrily uttered, grabbed his sister's hand again, and dragged her towards the Hermione's Head Girl's Room. "Apologize."  
  
"Over my dead body. Now, let go of me! I'm SIXTEEN RON! What am I a baby?"  
  
"The way you're acting ... YES!" Then, in one swift move, Ron opened the door to Hermione's room and roughly pushed his sister into it to face Harry and Hermione (both of whom still had marks on their faces) standing in front of the Head Girl's bed.  
  
"Hello, Ginny, " Hermione voiced with a surprisingly calm tone.   
  
Ginny did not move and just stared straight back at the girl who she loathed beyond anything in the world ... maybe except for Draco, that is.   
  
Harry still had not said anything.  
  
Arms across her chest, Hermione slowly walked over to where Ginny was standing. "I'll take your refusal to speak back as some kind of acknowledgement of me being here."  
  
Ginny could not stand being in that room anymore although she had only stood in it for a mere three minutes or so. She could not stand looking at Hermione, whose every being disgusted her knowing what she had probably done with Harry, the boy she used to love. Speaking of which, she also could not stand the fact that Harry was still leaning leisurely against one of the bedposts on Hermione's bed with a relatively cool demeanor.   
  
Hermione noticed where she was staring.  
  
"Looking at Harry, are you? Care to hit him and me again? In a mood to have a little skirmish?" Hermione harshly replied wiping away the calm tone she had before and quickly grabbed Ginny's red locks pulling the girl's head towards herself to whisper in her (Ginny's) ear. Looking over Hermione's shoulder, Ginny had a full view of Harry leaning against the bedpost and unemotionally staring back at them. The insouciant look on his face unnerved her. Wasn't he going to say something? Wasn't he going to grab her away from Hermione, who was clearly and slightly insane now? No - Harry didn't. He just glanced back at Ginny's startled face with a you-deserve-this look on his own.   
  
"Now you listen to me you little wench," Hermione haltingly whispered in the red head's ear. "You better NEVER try to hit me again. Harry and I are together - both figuratively and," Hermione chuckled lightly, " ... and literally." At this, Ginny involuntarily shuddered and closed her eyes trying to erase the image of Harry and Hermione previously shagging on the bed in front of her. She felt her blood boil again with rage as the image stayed in her mind.   
  
Harry never loved me.   
  
Harry never loved me.  
  
Harry never loved me.  
  
It was like a broken record in her mind that kept playing everytime an image of Harry and Hermione flashed through her head. Ginny felt like breaking down and crying there on the floor especially when she looked up again and found Harry still staring back at her with that nonchalant expression. She closed her eyes and felt his stare burning behind her eyes. It hurt her terribly to know that Harry would never glance at her like he did at Hermione and again she felt those last remaining feelings of love for him turn into hate.   
  
And when she opened her eyes again, they turned to purple. This time, neither Harry nor Hermione missed it.   
  
Out of surprise because of her rapid eye color change, Hermione jumped away from Ginny and moved toward her boyfriend who stood up straight and alert.  
  
"Ginny?" Harry said, his voice shaking slightly.   
  
"So now you speak to me?" Ginny quietly said while looking at the wood floor. "Now, after ignoring me for who knows how long, you decide to speak to me?  
  
"I waited for you for six long years, Harry. I loved you, but you never even felt the same things in return ... let alone speak to me unless I asked you a question that you had no choice but to answer," Ginny said as her calm voice quickly turned into one of choked rage that was becoming harder and harder to contain. She looked back at Harry, who fearfully stared back at the enraged girl and protectively grabbed Hermione around her waist. The anger continued to rise in her as she viewed his caring actions that were not directed towards herself but at Hermione.   
  
Finally, when her rage rose to a point where she could not contain it any longer, purple-eyed Ginny screamed with all her might and shouted with all the force she had, "You ignored me! And now? NOW I HATE YOU HARRY POTTER!"  
  
BOOM! As Ginny screamed, the windows in Hermione's room all powerfully burst open by some strong, invisible wind (revealing the afternoon sun), hit their respective walls, and shattered against them making glass shards fly everywhere.   
  
Hermione was screaming, to Ginny's delight. She liked the sound of the other girl's pain as the glass cut her skin. With shards still flying everywhere, Ginny looked out one of the windows and saw black spots that were rapidly advancing on the Head Girl's room in the tower.  
  
Then, to make matters worse, the "black spots" turned out to be black ravens with harsh black eyes. The loud, cawing birds entered the head girl's room and immediately circled the couple leaving Ginny unharmed. The birds' annoying sounds became louder and began to drown out the frightened shouts from Harry and Hermione. But, Ginny could hear them anyway.  
  
"Ginny!" Hermione fearfully screamed. "Make it stop! What are you doing Ginny?! PLEASE STOP IT!"  
  
"Ginny! Listen to Hermione, Please!"  
  
Yet, all she did was smile, turned her back on the couple who began to grab their wands out of their pockets to throw spells at the circling birds, and walked out the door past her brother, down the stairs, past the eiree silence from everyone in the common room, and out the Gryffindor Tower door.   
  
But Ginny, as she walked down the hallways towards her solace (the library), glanced down at her hands and couldn't help wondering - what had come over her? When those ravens entered the room, she felt as if she was controlling them and telling them to give Harry and Hermione what they deserved. She also felt as if she told some kind of windy force to blow through the room.   
  
Oh, Merlin ... what's wrong with me?  
  
Then, she remembered what Dumbledore had said: "Remember this, Miss Weasley. You are special, one of a kind to be exact."  
  
So, if she was so special, Ginny thought believing more of what Dumbledore said as every second passed, then there had to be something that could tell her what was so strange about herself in the library.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was no use. Ginny had been sitting at a secluded table in the library for over two hours going through books upon books trying to discover why Dumbledore had called her special when she started to feel slightly woozy. Ginny rested her head on the book she was currently flipping through and quickly fell asleep due to the day's exhaustions.  
  
As soon as she did so, an old man with half moon spectacles placed a book in front of her and then walked away.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A dreamless and peaceful sleep did not come that easily to Ginny Weasley.  
  
It was the same dream that she had before, except now, Ginny was partially in an awake dream state (A/N: this is where you can actively remember your dreams kind of like you're watching a movie) and could now fully remember it:  
  
He was in a cage surrounded by blue, iridescent bars that immured him in the structure. He sat huddled with his knees drawn up, arms around his legs, and a gash with blood staining it on his head. His hair, body, and eyes glowed with a white/blue light that swirled gracefully around the cage and he.   
  
  
  
The walls and columns in the room were made of limestone while the floor was covered in a deep blue marble almost the color of the ocean at night. There were no windows, no doors, no way for anyone to enter or exit.  
  
  
  
However, Ginny then saw herself, purpled eyed and in a cloud of diaphanous fog that shimmered in the glow from the aura around the caged figure. The dream Ginny stood directly in front of him wearing a dress that was intertwined with hues of white and gold. Outstretching her arm and holding her hand palm up, she delicately touched Draco's fingers, and on her palm was etched like a tattoo a figure of the Celtic Spiral of Life, a sign with no beginning or end that indicates birth, death, and the afterlife. Yet, the moment their digits brushed together, the scene changed although they remained in the same spot.  
  
  
  
But then, Ginny, watching her dream from her semi-sleep state, noticed something different. For, unlike the other time she had this recurring dream, now Ginny and Draco were suspended in mid air with blackness surrounding them on all sides. Then, from this darkness, a pair of bright red eyes appeared that seemed to be staring past the dream and actually at Ginny, who was watching it occur.   
  
And a snake-like voice spoke from the depths of the black surroundings:  
  
"You will be mine, Ginny, when I find you ... and I will."   
  
Like a rubber band, the voice broke Ginny away from her dream and made her awake to the sound of her own ragged breathing.  
  
What ... who ... was that?   
  
Her hands were shaking from the dream out of fear. That voice ... she heard it before but could not place from exactly where, but what she did know was that it frightened her and that whoever or whatever wanted to find her (if there really was something) it sounded completely determined to do so.   
  
Moving her head slightly to rid herself from any remnants of sleep, her head accidentally hit something in front of her that was not there before she nodded off: a book. Ginny eyed it suspiciously and wondered how it got there for she did not pick it out.   
  
Oh well ... anything that helps.  
  
So ignoring the fact that the book appeared out of nowhere, Ginny pulled it closer to herself and was about to open it ... when the book did it itself.   
  
Ginny sat wide-eyed as the book magically opened itself to the table of contents and then started to rapidly flip pages as if they were blowing in the wind. Yet, as quickly as it started, the book stopped turning its pages and stopped on one that immediately caught the girl's attention. On the top of the page, in bold script letters, two words were written that she remembered Dumbledore mentioning: The Balance  
  
Following the title were a series of paragraphs each with a picture next to it of different women with red hair and blue eyes. Ginny's fingers slowly ran the length of the pictures noticing how the women looked exactly like her. She scanned the page quickly and found a paragraph that seemed to call out to her; she began to read:  
  
The Balance of nature and humanity is something that has existed ever since man has consciously separated himself from nature. However, its intrinsic origin is still unknown, buried in the depths of every mystery that has ever lived upon this planet. It is said that The Balance is as old as magic; however, it is still said that no one as of yet has even discovered when magic first appeared. Therefore, the origins of the balance may never be uncovered. However, it has not been until recently that wizards have found the object that harnesses the power of the balance.  
  
In the late 1500s, magical researchers started looking for the source of the balance because they believed that he, she or it could bring permanent harmony to the world. However, there were also evil wizards and witches who thought that this creature could bring about the terrible events that they wickedly desired to occur. Luckily, although some of these creatures (who have turned out to be red haired, blue eyed women) have been discovered, none of them have been unearthed by the powers of evil.   
  
It is not exactly known how one of these creatures is chosen; however, it is believed that the Higher Powers have some kind of voice in this. Several characteristics can be found in many of these women such as a perseverance, a kind heart, and strength (the kind of which differs from woman to woman).  
  
The powers of one of them, other than eye color change that occurs from the moment of her birth appears after her first kiss. Depending on the age that this happens, her powers can emerge at any time. This could be tied to the fact that most of her actions are connected to actions of love (as stated below in the following paragraph).  
  
The picture opposite this paragraph shows the first rare witch that was discovered in the early 1600s to have shown some mysterious powers that were not known to the magical world. First, the most distinct attribute of these beings, which have recently been termed Equaliques because of their ability to keep The Balance, is that their eye color (blue in all cases) will turn purple during periods of extreme emotion such as anger, hate, and love. Second, they have close connections to animals. Although they cannot speak to the creatures in their animal form, they can speak to their Greater Spirits, the higher animal in the species, who will relay the information or emotions that the Equalique gives them to the animals in the species. Because of these connections with the Greater Spirits, the Equalique can accomplish almost any feat that involves some kind of animal. Third, the Equalique has the power to take away life although it cannot give it without the approval of the Higher Powers (humans still have not discovered who or what they are even after centuries of searching - perhaps it is supposed to be a mystery). And, finally, Equaliques can grant any wish whether their own or another's. However, it must be a wish that is true of heart and must be asked only in the act of pure love without feelings of anger, sadness, or hatred. Otherwise, the wish will not occur.   
  
Last, in moments when the Equalique desperately needs to protect herself or those close to her, she will transform - into what, you may ask? To answer ... no one is completely sure for a situation where she must change has never happened before. In the past, evil had never discovered the identity of an Equalique, and for the sake of our world, let us hope that evil never will uncover the identity of one.   
  
Ginny finished reading the excerpt from the page and was rendered speechless. Her mouth continued to open and close like a dying fish. Finally, a thought registered in her head after being left for maybe five minutes with a brain completely empty of coherent thoughts.   
  
That's ... that's me. There's no doubt about it whatsoever! I mean, my eyes turn purple when I'm angry, I sought those ravens on Harry and Hermione, and ... and ...  
  
... I feel like I have a connection with Malfoy.  
  
Ginny gasped, surprised at what she just said. A connection with Draco? How was that even possible? But then it hit her. She forgot that Draco was half-animal ... and well, since she was an Equalique, she had some kind of link with animals. But, Ginny wondered, how could she have a connection with Draco when he turned animal by accident? He was not born a creature. He was accidentally made one.   
  
That still, Ginny thought and let out an exasperated breath, doesn't mean that I can't consider him a narcissistic, crude, asshole with no trace of ...  
  
A grandfather clock in the library interrupted her thoughts and chimed eight times ...  
  
Oh, no! It's eight already! I'm going to be late!  
  
Grabbing her things and piling her inks and quills into her bag, Ginny jumped out of her chair and was about to sprint out of the library when she remembered the book that remained opened onto the page that told her everything that she needed to know. Grabbing a sheet of paper from her bag, Ginny marked the page, picked up the book, and ran quickly out of the library, ignoring Madam Pince's shrill yell to not run.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Draco checked his watch.  
  
It was two minutes past eight.  
  
Where was she?! He had to put his Bother-Ginny-Senseless Plan into action to hurry up and get her off his back and his conscience so that he could continue down the path of gaining complete and utter respect. And, now that he thought about it, he really wanted to get some beauty rest too, but if Ginny did not arrive soon, that would mean five minutes taken off from his sleep. As it was they would probably be getting back to their rooms at around midnight.   
  
Pacing up and down the second hall main corridor, Draco looked down at the floor and kept running his hands through his hair, which he didn't have any time to put gel into.   
  
Maybe he should have kept his eyes ahead of him, for Ginny, rounding a corner and therefore having a large blindspot, ran right into him ... again ... making him fall to the floor in a heap and her land spread eagle on top of him   
  
"Weasel, do you have some kind of knack for pinning guys down? If I couldn't say better, seeing this is the second time you've done this, I'd say you were hopelessly attracted to my sexy self," Draco smirked noticing that something was nudging him ... down there. He glanced downwards and saw that when Ginny landed on him, her knee was a little too close to where his legs met. Wriggling his arms out from under Ginny and placing them under his head, he huskily muttered, "Like what you're lying on?"  
  
Ginny finally opened her eyes and followed to where his were looking ...   
  
"Oh my God!!! Oh shit!"  
  
Draco gave a conceited smirk and winked. "I thought so, Weasel."  
  
Ginny quickly jumped off of him and retrieved her bag. "Gods, you're gross! Is there anything that you ever think about other than sex?  
  
"Anyway," Ginny said with a disgusted look still on her face, "can you get off the floor? I want to get this over with and go to sleep."  
  
"Well, you were late in the first place, Weaselette," Draco sneered raising himself off the ground. "Why? You think I'm looking forward to a full four hours with you?"  
  
"You know what, Malfoy? I'm not going to take this. Just tell me what I have to do and I'll be out of your hair and you out of mine."  
  
"In a rush aren't we?"  
  
"Don't deny that you aren't either."  
  
"Fine, then. For tonight, you get to clean the mess the fifth years made in potions today. I heard that about seven of them spilled truth potions on the floor. Come on, we're heading for Snape's room."  
  
"What?" Ginny replied with a frustrated sigh. "Truth potions? Do you know how dangerous those are? Even if you step in a puddle, you'll spew secrets!"  
  
"Well then, Weaselette," Draco laughed, "I guess you better watch your back. You know how much fun it'll be to see you reveal everything about yourself, hmm? I can see it now, you revealing your undying love for Potter. Too bad Mudblood stole him."  
  
You know? Draco just has to say some things, doesn't he?  
  
The second after he said this, he found himself pinned to a wall by Ginny and strangely, he was unable to move although he was one of the strongest people in the school. She had her hands on his shoulders holding him back and a knee close to his groin ready to lift in case he pissed her off anymore. Draco simply stared back at her with his common, unemotional face.  
  
"Malfoy..." Ginny said trying to restrain her anger as to not receive more detentions or possibly a suspension. Instead, she grabbed his shirt where her hands were on his shoulders and started to twist it. "I swear ... if you say another thing about Harry, I'll do something to you. I can't think of what it is right now, but I swear that it'll hurt." Letting go of him, Ginny continued moving towards Snape's room.  
  
Surprised by her strength, Draco found himself dumbfounded for the rest of the way to the dungeons and partly into the detention.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Oh ..." Ginny moaned as she crawled on hands and knees for the past two hours scrubbing Truth Potion off the floor. "This is sooo gross and dangerous. Just sit there Malfoy, why don't you? A true gentlemen would help." Ginny laughed. " ... then again, you're anything but that."   
  
They had been like that for the past hour and a half. Draco spewing insults at Ginny, trying to make his plan work, only to find her say something as witty back at him. So, all in all, his little bother Ginny Weasley plan was not working. And, quite frankly, he was getting quite tired of losing.   
  
"You know what, Weasley? How about we call it a night? I'm tired -  
  
- "pfft, like you've done anything."  
  
" - and I want to go to bed."  
  
"You're so lazy, you know that? I swear, do you do anything at your house? Or do the house elves cater to your every need? Does your deatheater father give you everything you want, you spoiled brat?"  
  
"Weasley," Draco sneered walking carefully over to where Ginny was scrubbing the floors as to not step on the potion, "I think you're jealous. I can do whatever I want. I have clothes and money while you," Draco laughed down at her and touched the patched hood of her cloak and her red hair, "are just a flaming, ugly, poor witch."   
  
Ginny stopped moving. "What Weasley ... Weasel got your tongue? Too embarrassed to say anything?" Draco paused. "You know, make up wouldn't even help you."  
  
Ginny was quiet for a few seconds. It was too bad Draco couldn't see the sly look that came over her face. "Is that what you think Malfoy?" she replied in a sickly sweet voice while soaking up the brush she was using with truth potion.  
  
"Well, duh. So now not only are you ugly, you're slow too. I guess it runs in the family."  
  
Whack! Ginny, after Draco said this, turned around with a smile on her face and pressed the brush with the truth potion to Draco's arm that was idly hanging by his side. Draco was stunned speechless for the second time that night.  
  
"Weasley ..." he quietly said regaining some of his composure yet feeling a slight tingling sensation throughout his body, "what ... what have you done?!"  
  
"Shouldn't you know Malfoy? I mean you are a seventh year," Ginny happily replied knowing that this was going to be great payback although she only had two or three minutes to get some blackmail from him. After all, Snape would never give a real dose of truth potion for kids to make. He was smarter than that.  
  
Draco knew what was going to happen though. "I swear Weasley, if you even think -"  
  
Too late.  
  
"So, Malfoy, you really think I'm ugly?"  
  
Draco tried to restrain himself, hold it out for the three minutes that he had, but the pain was becoming unbearable ... he didn't want to say it but he had to.  
  
"No. I don't. I actually think you're prettier than most of the girls in the school."  
  
Ginny stared wide-eyed. Did he really just say that?  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Uggghhh," Draco tried restraining himself again but to no avail. "Because you ... just are. You're beautiful without make up. When I saw you falling that night, I saw your face ... and I thought you were beautiful."  
  
He really does think I'm beautiful. No one has said that before.   
  
And then she asked the question that was bugging her for a while.  
  
"Why ... why did you kiss me that night and then pretend like you hated me the next day?" she said quietly looking into his eyes.  
  
"Because ... because ..." Oh Merlin! Don't make me do this! "because I like you and I can't allow myself to."  
  
Ginny was taken aback again ... he liked her. He liked her. But before she could ask why he couldn't allow himself to, the spell wore off and a very pissed off Draco stood in front of her. Then, as quick as lightening, Draco scooped up the brush with the potion on it and put it on Ginny's bare arm.   
  
"You ferret!" she screamed. Why oh why didn't she think that he'd do the same to her?  
  
"What," Draco said anger seething through him, "you thought that I would let you get away with it?"  
  
"I hate you."  
  
"Now, now Weasley ... do you really?"  
  
Ginny gasped. How could he ask her that? She hated him, she knew she did! But then again ... the night he kissed her, she swear that she saw something different in him that she liked .. but she didn't want to admit that. Ginny tried with all her might to keep that to herself, but the potion was too powerful.  
  
"Sometimes I do," Ginny glared at him, "but on the night you kissed me, I really liked you and I think part of me still does. But you're such an ass sometimes!"   
  
Oh no! no! no! no! I said it! Oh, Merlin, save me please.  
  
Draco simply raised his eyebrow when she said this. She liked him? Since when does a Weasley like a Malfoy.  
  
But since when does a Malfoy like a Weasley?   
  
Gah! Touche. Oh this sucks, Draco thought.  
  
"Don't worry Weasley, I'll end your misery soon. Just one more question," Draco eagerly said with a hint of mischieviousness behind his eyes.  
  
Oh no Ginny thought. She really didn't like that look.  
  
"What made you hit Harry and Hermione?"  
  
This time, Ginny gave up trying to resist the truth potion and looked straight into Draco's eyes, telling him everything. "Because ever since I was ten until this summer, I've loved Harry but then, at the Burrow, he got together with Hermione and I saw them, Malfoy. I saw them in the backyard snogging like there was no tomorrow. And do you know how that feels? It feels like shit, Malfoy. It feels like you're the dirt of the earth and everybody just wants to step on you because it's funny. Oh look!" Ginny said, mimicking the snobby people in her house. "Here comes Ginny Weasley. Poor little Ginny Weasley. So innocent! Let's just use her. She won't know any better! So, put that on top of knowing that Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived, never liked you ... never even talked to you. You want to know when Harry actually said something to me? When he asked me to pass the butter at the dinner table! I don't get it! No one understands me, Malfoy. I know who I am, but no one else does and then along comes you making me feel even worse than I do. Do you have a conscience? Why am I even asking this? Of course, you do not. Since when has a Malfoy ever said something nice to a Weasley ... out of his own will that is and not under a stupid potion! That night that you kissed me, I felt on top of the world. I felt all of my worries slip away. I felt like nothing could hurt me ever again because I felt happy, ok? I felt happy. But then, like always, you have to take it all away. I really can't stand you," and at this, Ginny let out a choked sob as tears fell down her face, "I really, really can't sometimes."  
  
Draco didn't know what to say. Did he really do this to her? Did he really make her feel that bad?   
  
Did he have a conscience?  
  
Yes, he did as a matter of fact. But Draco Malfoy never showed it to anyone.   
  
"Are you happy now?" Ginny said trying to keep her face composed. "Are you happy knowing that you make peoples' lives miserable?"  
  
"I am who I am, Weasley," Draco softly said, not knowing exactly how to respond. "Oh, and by the way," he chuckled, "the potion wore off about three minutes ago ... everything you just said was out of your own accord."  
  
The room become eerily quiet.  
  
"Oh ... well, then, I um guess that I just needed to get it out ... maybe."  
  
"Yea," Draco curtly replied.  
  
"Listen, Malfoy, I've had enough for tonight. You can continue being an ass to me tomorrow. I'm going to bed." Ginny moved towards the door, picked up her bag that was lying next to it, and walked out into the hallway towards the staircase that led to the main hallway, but before she got halfway there, Draco started running towards her, finally catching up with her quickened steps.   
  
"You know, Weasley, I'm ... uh ... I'm s-sorry, I guess." He ran his hands through his hair out of nervousness. He never really said sorry to anyone before.  
  
Ginny stopped abruptly, turned around and looked him straight in the eye.  
  
"If you really were Malfoy, then you'd leave me alone. I really," Ginny sighed, "don't need this right now okay? Not only am I tired but I just spilled out pretty much everything to a guy who doesn't even care. Now leave me be." Walking slowly at first to make sure that Draco would stay where he was, Ginny soon walked at her normal pace towards the main hall stairs leaving Draco to stand in the hallway, running his hands through his hair, contemplating over what just happened and why, he of all people, actually said sorry.   
  
The clicking of Ginny's heels bounced off the walls.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ginny was slowly making progress as she moved further away from Draco with every step. She needed to get away from him. She couldn't believe that she told him pretty much everything, everything that she had felt over the past summer.  
  
Ginny, put a hand to her forehead as she was halfway up the stairs. She could feel a headache coming on, but before Ginny could register what was happening, a sharp pain ran up the side of her head making her let out a painful yelp.  
  
What's wrong?  
  
And then it appeared again as she closed her eyes. She saw those red ones that had haunted her dream and scared her with their message when she woke up. Except this time, not only were they causing pain but they began to shrink and mold onto the face of a body that she knew all too well.  
  
Before her closed eyes stood Tom Riddle. Ginny immediately reached out and felt for the banister to hold up her weight. She felt sick ... frighteningly emotionally and physically sick. Tom Riddle was staring back at her. Him ... him again.   
  
"Hello, Ginny," he said, smirking at her from the vision before her eyes, "I've been looking for you. You and me, Gin, we'll do many things together. I just have to find you first and when I do, you'll be mine." With every word spoken, he started to disappear from her vision and the pain increased until she lost her balance and fell ... fell into the arms of Draco Malfoy for the second time over the past week.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Draco stood in the hallway contemplating what just happened and listening to the clickety click sounds of Ginny's shoes echo off the walls. He didn't understand. He told Ginny that he thought she was beautiful and here she was telling him that he had caused her all of this pain. Well it wasn't his fault!  
  
Wait, Draco thought, yea it is.  
  
And then he wondered why he even cared. Wasn't he supposed to be making this girl's life a living hell so that she'd leave him be? But here he was, thinking about Ginny's emotional state ... like some shrink.   
  
And it was then that Draco heard the clicking of Ginny's heels stop. The silence unnerved him; something was wrong. She couldn't have walked up the hallway and up the stairs that quickly.  
  
"Weasley?" he said quietly still staring at the floor and running his hands through his hair.   
  
No answer.  
  
But he heard a pained yelp.   
  
Quickly turning around at the direction in which it came from, Draco found Ginny holding onto the banister on the staircase as if it was her lifeline. Her knees were shaking and she was holding one hand to her forehead.   
  
"Weasley?!" Draco yelled louder walking towards her and slowly up the stairs.  
  
"Weasel are you alright?" Glancing down at her feet, Draco noticed that they were slipping out from under her. She was falling ... and at that moment, a picture of Ginny falling out of her window flashed through his mind. And as she tripped over the step behind her, Draco caught her weak, limp body.  
  
"Ginny!" he yelled looking at her face and noticing that it was as pale as ever.   
  
"Oh shit. Oh shit," Draco muttered and surprisingly found himself scared that Ginny was dead.  
  
No Draco thought she's not, she just fainted that's all.   
  
But Draco was worrying about her ... a lot. Picking her limp body up and holding her against him, Draco ran down the corridors like hell was chasing him towards the infirmary. When he arrived there, he looked down at Ginny again and saw that her breathing was shallow, slow, not at a normal pace.  
  
"Madam Pompfrey! Madam Pompfrey!" he screamed with all his might, banging against the door even after the light from inside came on until the door opened and the tired nurse looked at him and then at the girl in his arms.  
  
"OH MY! Mr. Malfoy, what happened? Quick, bring her to that bed!" she quickly said pointing to the one in the middle of the room.   
  
"I don't know! She just ... well ... collapsed. She was holding her head and the banister and then just fainted."  
  
"I'll be right back. I need some potions."  
  
Draco glanced at Ginny again with a scared look on his face. Was she ok? What happened? Softly, he put her gently down onto the bed just as Madam Pompfrey returned with a whole bunch of magical potions and ingredients.  
  
"Stand away, Mr. Malfoy." But Draco didn't move.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, please, go stand by the door."  
  
"If you don't mind, Madam, I'd like to stand here, after all I did bring her in."  
  
"Fine, fine, just let me work."  
  
After giving Ginny a few potions, Madam Pompfrey turned to him. "That's all I can do Mr. Malfoy. I'm guessing you left Ms. Weasley's bag on the staircase?"  
  
Draco nodded at this. He did leave it there.  
  
"Well, then maybe before you go back to your dorm, you should pick it up. It would be a nice gesture. You can't trust some kids now-a-days ... stealing and such things. Well, goodnight." Turning away from him, the nurse went into her office and closed the door.   
  
Draco squatted down by Ginny's bedside and looked at her through questioning eyes. She looked fragile, tired, and sad and he couldn't help but think that it was all because of him. But, he still had to get rid of her, he thought. He wanted respect, he wanted people to look up to him.   
  
As Draco was thinking to himself, a piece of Ginny's red hair fell across her face. The strands of hair were annoyingly close to her nose and would just bother her and wake her up. So, against his own plan, Draco slowly moved his fingers over to her face and pushed the hair behind her ear.  
  
His fingers tingled and he looked at them.  
  
Yes, Weasley will definitely become one of my weaknesses if I keep this up.  
  
And that couldn't happen.   
  
And then, he noticed that she wasn't under the covers that were rolled up at the end of the bed.  
  
So, for the second time, Draco again went against his plan and pulled the blankets up and around her.  
  
What did I just do?   
  
He shook his head lightly.  
  
... A weakness ... definitely a weakness.  
  
Looking at her one more time before leaving the room, Draco couldn't help but think how peaceful she looked curled up in the blankets without any tears on her face ... some of them being ones that he caused.  
  
But why was she holding onto the banister like that? What was wrong?   
  
Sighing to himself, he walked to the end of the bed and towards the door.   
  
Impulse overtook him and before he walked out the infirmary door to get her bag and then go to bed, he quietly said with a hint of emotion (which is more for Draco normally), "Goodnight." 


End file.
